New Beginnings
by Loneliestgeminis
Summary: When Sophie comes home ill one night, she mistakes it for a stomach bug. But when she learns her true condition. It changes her and Howl's life forever, especially when she learns just how evil her Husband's practice truly is and the true reason Howl ran away for all those years. /Slight AU, Mature for sexual themes. Based on movie. HowlxSophie. / Romance/Drama/Humor.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so this is my first Hmc fanfic, I am planning on making this a story, not quite sure how long it will be, but I got a lovely recommendation to do a oneshot for HMC by a user who'd like to remain anonymous, I love HMC and this fic is based on the movie, not the book (which I love too) I thought it was a great idea! Anyway, reviews are welcomed as always 3 I am always excited to receive reviews on my work. I will update as much as I possibly can between writing for my AHS fic.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Howl's Moving Castle, or any of it's characters.**

 **Another disclaimer: this fic is 18+ due to sexual themes. Please, if that offends you stop here. You've been warned.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Good evening ladies."

Sophie waved goodbye to her fellow workers who helped at the hat shop alongside her, it was rather late and Sophie decided it wasn't fair to keep not only herself but the others waiting around all day; the shop wasn't very busy during the week anyhow.

Sophie locked the shop and headed toward the station, the air was fresh with pastries and flowers, usually she loved the smell, but for some strange reason it was making her stomach ache.

Today was rather peculiar for the young girl, she had finished all of her duties at work, and before she opened the shop she cleaned the castle, making sure it was mopped and the dishes were clean.

It was a normal day, yes, but still something bothered her; since she'd woken up every smell, even the scent of Howl's herbal tea made her want to gag. It was quite odd. But, she pushed it the side and went on with her day, until it got unbearable.

On her way to the station, Sophie felt that strange sensation again. She hoped she wasn't falling ill. That maybe she woke up on the wrong side of the bed; as her mother always put it.

Luckily, the train wasn't too late this time around, she sighed in relief. The faster she got home, the better, quickly she hopped on, holding onto her wicker hat as a gush of wind blew through.

She was glad there was a spot on the train for her, she quickly sat down next to a mother and child who babbled nonsense to it's mother; Sophie found the scene rather sweet, but the rumbling movements of the vehicle made her theory even more believable.

Sophie glanced out the window, watching the buildings zoom by before her eyes; even that was making her stomach turn. Once the train was close enough to the castle's latest decoy, she quickly got off, practically running to the "Olde Wizard's Shoppe".

She quickly unlocked the door, praying she wouldn't ruin the clean wooden floors. She knew she'd be the one to clean it up.

"Sophie!" Markel and Hein were at the stair top, rejoicing at her arrival, but quickly noticed something was wrong.

"Are you okay?"

Markel watched her run passed them and straight into the bathroom, slamming it behind her, Hein looked up at him and scoffed; Markel slowly crept up to the door, placing his ear against it, he furrowed his red brows as he listened. The small boy turned his attention to Hein who was running in circles.

"Sophie's sick! What should we do?" Markel ran to Calcifer, tears in his eyes. "Do you think she's going to die?"

"No, she probably got sick from being at work." Calcifer assured the child who pouted, agreeing with the fire demon.

"Well, is she going to be okay?"

"Stop worrying so much!"

Sophie washed her face, which was pale and sickly, not nearly as bright and lively as it usually is.

"Oh great, I've got a stomach bug!"

Sophie groaned as she feverishly washed her hands, looking into the mirror once more, pulling her hair into a ponytail, she still felt horrible.

"Are you okay Sophie?" Markel knocked, there was a sense of nervousness in his voice, Sophie chuckled and opened the door, revealing the two nervous boys.

"Oh, Markel! Don't worry about me. I've just caught a bad stomach bug. I'm fine. I just need some rest-"

"Then I'll make us dinner tonight! Howl and I can help clean. You can lay down." Markel exclaimed, cutting her off, little Hein barked scruffily, a smile broke onto Sophie's face once more.

"Okay, just be careful." Sophie patted the top of his messy head.

Markel made sure Sophie made it safely to her and Howl's room, then he decided it was time for dinner; hopping down the steps and pacing to the kitchen with Hein in tow he got a stool and stood atop of it, pulling out an old cook book that had gathered dust, slamming it onto the counters, shaking the hanging utensils over his head and even the jars of spices littered along the kitchen surface.

The jingle of the dial at the front door and Hein's excited heavy breathing signaled Howl's return.

The young wizard cheerfully greeted everyone, Howl entered the living area, hanging his coat on the rack, he noticed something odd as he walked to the kitchen area, he was so eagerly expecting his wife.

Markel struggled to place a large pot onto the stovetop; ignoring Howl's strange stare.

"Where's Sophie? She isn't still at that shop, is she?"

"Sophie's sick, I told her I'd make dinner!" Markel explained, a wooden spoon in his small right hand.

"Sick?"

"Yup. She has a stomach bug! She sounded pretty sick in the bathroom…"

Howl rested his hands on his hips and shrugged.

"Well, that was kind of you to take care of dinner. I'll have to make Sophie some tea, I think I have a special trick that should get rid of that nasty bug she has."

He hurriedly got to work, pouring water into a chipped tea cup, then blowing into it, creating a blue liquid, then he searched the cupboard for some teabags.

"Calcifer, warm up some water. Be careful Markel, I don't want a fire, not like last time."

He joked, stepping over the old dog who always seemed to get in Howl's way, Howl placed the tea cup on a small blue plate and headed toward the stairs.

Markel returned to his duty annoyed by Howl's snide remark, While Hein followed Howl up the stairs running through his feet almost causing him to trip over the hefty dog.

"Hein!" Howl groaned, aligning the cup in the middle of the plate again.

He walked down the long, dark hallway, halting at the room he shared with his wife, he knocked softly. Hushing the dog beneath him.

"Sophie?"

Sophie perked up at her Husband's voice, she was in bed, her condition had not gotten any better.

"Yes?" She called, a smile crept upon her lips as Howl opened the door slowly, his dark hair peeked through following his concerned expression, his nicely trimmed brows were furrowed with worry, though he forced a kind smile.

"I made you some special tea, it should get rid of that horrid illness." He stepped toward her, his polished boots clicked against the wood along with the sound of excited paws, Hein jumped onto the bed resting himself by Sophie's side, letting out a huff; his long ears flopping by his side.

"He followed me." Howl explained, slightly annoyed, sitting on the edge of her side of the bed, he placed the cup of tea on the nightstand that was littered with mail and strange items he liked to collect.

"Oh, thank you. I appreciate it, I hope I didn't put you through trouble." Sophie sat up to take a sip of the tea, her face twisted in disgust.

"What is this? It tastes… terrible!" she placed it down on the plate and shook her head, Howl always had a "trick" to fix something, it didn't always work as much as he liked to believe…

"It's medicine dear, I drink when I fall ill."

Howl chuckled, placing his hand on her cheek; again his expression fell worrisome.

"That's strange, you don't seem to have a fever. Are you sure you didn't eat anything spoiled?"

Sophie shook her head, her breakfast consisted of tea and biscuits she'd baked, so she knew it wasn't that. Howl pulled his hand away and sighed.

"How do you feel?"

"Awful, I don't think that tea you conjured up is working…" she admitted, placing a hand on her stomach. Howl wasn't to sure what he could do, he wasn't a doctor, so he couldn't diagnose her properly; but he was surely worried for his wife, he could tell she wasn't feeling her usual self.

"If you still feel ill in the morning, I'd like you to visit a nurse or doctor, whoever is available. Especially if my magic isn't working." Howl leaned in to kiss her cheek, her soft rosy scent warmed his heart, he was still getting used to that sensation.

"Promise me?" He placed his hand on her left cheek once more, his starry eyes met hers, she nodded softly and murmured.

"Yes, now I think you should go help Markel. Whatever he's cooking is making me ill again."

Sophie felt that urge to vomit, though it wasn't so prominent as the first time, she took a deep breath, focusing on Howl instead of the smell of cooking food.

"Really? It smells good to me." Howl stood up, his attention still on his lover, who ran her fingers through the dog's fur intently.

"You're not sick, are you?"

Sophie glanced up at him, Howl very seldom caught a legitimate illness; if he as much as suffers a migraine he treats it as if he's living his last days. Howl ignored her sarcasm and lifted the small cup, examining briefly before placing back on the nightstand.

"Are you sure my magic isn't working? I sell this concoction, it amazes everyone who uses it. I'm at a lost here…My magic is the best in town."

Sophie rolled her eyes at his conceited remark, Hein huffed as if agreeing with her thought; she sighed heavily and sank her head into the remarkably soft pillows. He was such a narcissist at times.

"Thank you for your help, I love you." Sophie cooed lovingly, she began to feel quite tired. "Now can you please go help Markel? I am sure it's a mess down there and I will not clean it up."

She snickered watching her husband be forced to help out. He was either working on his magic, tending to the king's needs, or spending time with her; sadly the last option wasn't too often…Since he stopped hiding from his duties, he's always busy, his magic is even more needed than before.

"Will do, my love. I will be back to check up on you after dinner."

Howl leaned in to kiss her forehead, her silver strands of hair tickled his lips, causing him to smile.

"Get some rest and please finish the tea. It's still warm. I'm sure it will work." Howl opened the door and was gone.

Sophie on the other hand couldn't bear to even smell the strong odor of the tea and quickly grabbed a nearby bucket that was slightly full of rain water that Howl used for spells, she'd have to explain to him where it went later…

"Master Howl! Is Sophie doing better?"

Howl slowly entered the kitchen, being met with an overflowing pot and a hefty load of dirty dishes, he took in a aggravated breath.

"I gave her my special medicine, the one that sells quite often, she should be fine by the end of the night... You know, you're helping me clean this mess." Howl turned on the faucet, glancing at the growing pile of dishes in disgust.

"What on earth are you making?"

Markel shrugged "It's from this cook book and I will, once I'm done with dinner." He took a pinch of salt, balancing in his toes and sprinkled them into the boiling pot.

"Did you bother to cut the vegetables?" Howl could see a visible celery stalk and whole potatoes floating around in the liquid.

"Sophie said I'm not allowed to cut without her supervision."

Howl couldn't help but chuckle at that and how dysfunctional everything is without Sophie's magic fingers, Howl hated cleaning, of course he'd gotten used to it with Sophie around; but it just took to much time. He didn't know how she did it.

After dinner was done and the kitchen was moderately cleaned, it was time for bed, which Sophie would usually be the one to tuck everyone in and make sure Calcifer had enough chunks of wood so he wouldn't complain in the morning.

But, it was one of the rare nights where Howl got to enjoy time with the family and not having to deal with the king and his orders, one thing in particular he didn't enjoy about this night was putting the old witch of the waste to bed, she still had a thing for him and made it apparent every chance she got.

"Why don't you come to bed with me? Huh? Like we used too…" she purred, Howl felt a shiver run down his back, not wanting to be rude he smiled sweetly and rejected her offer.

"I am a married man now, I can't sleep with any other woman aside from my wife." Howl pulled the quilt over the old woman, who batted her eyes at him, winking seductively.

"I won't tell."

"Goodnight."

He placed a kiss on her forehead and lifted the curtains as he left, he felt a bit nauseous himself now, dealing with that.

He decided it was time to check on Sophie before he took his bath for the night, he was sure she'd be fine by now; the magic should have kicked in and for the most part he was right, she didn't seem to be sick any longer, He was relieved when he was greeted with a kiss and a tight hug when entered the bedroom, luckily Hein was still fast asleep on the bed. Not even a huff.

"How was dinner?"

"A mess."

Sophie giggled, her silver hair was messy and she had changed into her baby pink silky night dress that covered every inch of her body, she was always so modest; not that it bothered Howl, in fact it made it all the more exciting when they went to bed together.

"Aren't you tired?" Howl rested his hands on her small shoulders, surprised when she shook her head.

"I feel fine. After some time I decided to drink the rest of that nasty tea and I feel better than ever." Sophie exclaimed, not wanting to bring up the bucket incident. "Are you going to bed?" Sophie asked, pulling a loose strand of black hair away from his soft skin.

"I'm going to take a bath, then I'll be in able to join you. I have a busy day in the morning, the king is on my tail about attending this meeting, every wizard and witch in the valley has to attend." Howl sighed, running his fingers through his hair, plopping on to the end of the bed, his hair spilled over his alluring features.

Sophie felt for Howl, he was such a hard working wizard; he barely had enough time to spend with his own wife or even himself. He had so much pressure on him, she couldn't blame him for running away for all those years...She stood there watching him lazily sit up, the stress wore on him, he massaged the bridge of his nose letting out a sigh.

"The water should be hot enough, I'll be back."

Howl stood, unbuttoning his oversized white blouse, Sophie felt the heat in her face rise suddenly, she'd seen all of him many times, each time she'd fluster as if it were the first.

"Do you want me to join you?" Sophie shyly insisted, seeing him this way made her realize how badly she wanted him.

"To bathe?" He questioned, internally smirking at how red she was getting, Howl enjoyed her demure, she was always so shy to ask for anything intimate, while Howl was more open when he wanted her; he had no shame in it.

Sophie nodded slowly, her breathing hitched as he slowly inched toward her, he leaned in for a kiss, wrapping his arms around her small waist, pressing her chest against his, earning a soft moan from her innocent mouth.

"Of course you can, don't be so shy."

He whispered in her ear before pulling away, taking her hand in his own he led her quietly to the master bathroom just outside the bedroom; where ironically enough there a was tub large enough for two people, it was rather beautiful.

On a regular basis she and the other members of the family used the downstairs bathroom, since Howl pretty much owned this one, Almost all of his spells and potions were on display and at easy access. It was quite nice seeing this one in all it's glory.

Howl made sure the door was locked before turning the faucet on, a thick stream of water bursted out, steam immediately filling the room.

Sophie wanted him so bad, it'd been so long since the last time they had sex, at least a month, they'd been married almost a year now and with them finally being alone, it was perfect; except she was to shy to even come onto him!

Howl wasted no time in pulling off his top, exposing his perfect torso, his chest was nicely sculpted as if it were done by hand, he turned from her as he pulled the tie on his black pants.

Sophie felt like a fool gawking at him, so she quickly unbuttoned the neck of her dress so it can easily slip off, her fingers were shaky as she undid each button, she was so focused she gasped when two hands rested onto her shaky ones.

"My dear Sophie, you are so shy with your body. I am your husband, I love every part of you, clothed or not."

He murmured, she was still like a statue as he bunched up the silky material, as the fabric slid over her smooth skin, she caught goosebumps, the room was strong with the scent of lavender and myrrh; She took a deep breath and lifted her arms as he slipped the dress off of her petite form, her bare body came into contact with the warm surroundings, making her feel a bit more at ease.

Howl threw the dress lazily to the side, missing the hamper completely, his eyes were heavy with lust, he kissed her once more, leaving trails down her neck, his skillful hands roamed over her body, sending chills up and down her spine like an electric current.

He couldn't keep his eyes off of her breasts, causing her to be a bit self conscious, sexual acts between them were usually held in the bedroom and not out in the open like this, it made her even more nervous than she already was.

"Come." He pulled her to the barely overflowing tub, he held her hand as she got in, she flinched at the heat as the water engulfed her, Howl joined not seeming to care that the water was scorching hot.

He held out his hands, instinctively, she took them, allowing Howl to pull her body into his. She moaned lowly as her breasts pressed against his chest, causing a chuckle to escape his lips. He rested his back against the ceramic tub, he continued to explore her body in all its glory. She hovered over him, placing soft kisses on his cheeks and lips.

"This is quite nice, if only you were here every time I decided to bathe."

"Oh shut up."

She giggled, jumping slightly as he took her left breast into his hand, his eyes gaging her every expression, she arched her back as he leaned in once more, taking a rosy bud into his hot mouth, running his tongue over the sensitive peak, Sophie could feel his growing erection underneath her, she mewled at his actions, her eyes fluttering shut.

Sophie whimpered as he bit the bud softly, she was so excited by his behavior, her head fell back as he reached between her legs and began to explore her nether regions, Her moans were music to his ears, he loved when she wriggled with pleasure.

Howl removed his hand, pulling away, smirking devilishly at her pout she gave him. He was always full of surprises when it came to sex, he never played by the rules; that was something he lived by religiously.

"Turn around, I want to see you." He demanded, swirling his left index finger in a circular motion, Sophie nodded and obeyed, not quite knowing what he was getting at, she held onto the opposite end of the bathtub, bracing herself for him.

Howl leaned forward so he was on his knees, leering over her; he left trails down the small of her back, listening to her heavy breathing, she wanted him to take her, he knew if he made her wait any longer she'd be furious with him.

"Do you want me?"

Sophie nodded wanting nothing more than for him to be inside of her. She'd never been so turned on in her life.

"I want to hear it." He grasped her hips firmly. Digging his filed nails into her soft skin.

"Yes! Please.."

She cried, Howl was pleased with her answer and granted her wish, he let out a low groan as he slid inside of her, she was so wet and warm; it'd been so long…

Howl took a steady pace with her, not wanting to finish to soon; he watched himself slide in and out of her tight pussy, she was so wet; more so than he'd ever experienced, it took everything in him not to lose control and push her against the bathroom wall and ravish her the way he'd always fantasized about.

But of course, he had to be calm, he wanted to enjoy every moment.

"Faster…please." Sophie whined, pressing herself against him, in a weak attempt to get all of him inside of her, Howl moved forward, kissing behind her right ear, he began to move faster inside of her, she moaned softly and tightened her grip around the rim of the tub.

"Are you ready?" He warned, pressing his warm lips against her neck. Gently biting her soft skin.

"I'm ready…" she whispered, a loud gasp escaped her lips as she was pushed forward harshly from his newly found rhythm.

Sophie bit her lower lip, keeping herself from screaming, she could feel a familiar fire ignite in the pit of her stomach, her orgasm building its stigma, There was water splashing everywhere, surely someone could hear them, but she was too caught up in her own euphoria to even care.

"Oh god!"

She groaned, she was so very close to her climax, she rolled her eyes into the back of her head as he slammed into her, his groans mixing with hers.

"Sophie…" he growled, he couldn't take it much longer, he needed his release.

His thrusts were quick and erratic, cursing under his breath as he buried his cock inside of the young girl beneath him.

Sophie's body tightened as she came, she let out one last cry before the sweet sense of release overcame her.

Howl lost it, he came instantly, letting out a soft groan as he did so, releasing himself.

He sat back in the tub, slowly, his eyes shut, skin luminous and red. His chest rising and falling rapidly. He rested his elbows on either side of the bathtub. Sophie turned to him.

"I love you."

He smirked, nodding his head. His breathing returning to normal.

"I'm going to go to bed now. I'll let you enjoy your alone time." She brushed her lips against his. "And you're going to clean the floor. I'm not your maid anymore." She stood slowly, her skin riddled in goosebumps from the drop of temperature.

Howl didn't say a word as she quickly hopped out of the bath, retrieving her night dress and slipping it on.

Sophie had fallen asleep before Howl got to bed, when he did, he couldn't help but watch her.

Her mouth was slightly agape, as she took a small breath, her long lashes bounced off of the tops of her cheeks, she looked heavenly; especially with the moonlight illuminating her features. He can remember seeing her for the first time, he thought she was beautiful, despite her protest.

He placed a kiss on her cheek before falling into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Sophie awoke to a powerful urge to vomit again, thankfully she had enough time to rush to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet. She gagged heavily, coughing, releasing herself into toilet; it felt like an eternity before she was well enough to stand.

Her first thought was that Howl's tea did absolutely nothing, she was still extremely sick, secondly, she'd have to close the shop for the day and go to the nearest medical clinic in town.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: here's chapter two! I enoyed writing this one, I am still getting used to these characters & I have to say it's fun to write, I especially enjoy Howl's personality. There is just so much to it! Anyway, again, reviews are welcomed. I hope you enjoy! Slight lemon in the end. **

"You're going to the doctor? For what? I thought Howl's magic cured you."

Calcifer laughed, yelping as Sophie threw a small log onto his small fiery body.

"Well, it didn't. Now please, make sure Markel gets that spell finished for the young woman who should be coming later on today. I can't remember her name for the life of me…" Sophie furrowed her thick brows as she hurriedly grabbed her hat from the rack. Turning her attention back to Calcifer.

"What's up with you lately? You're so forgetful."

Calcifer munched on the wood loudly, swallowing a large chunk whole.

"Oh hush you, do you want another cup of water in your face?"

Sophie mumbled, pleased when Calcifer kept quiet, she made her way down the stairs, twisting the dial making sure it landed on the correct portal.

"I will be back."

"Be safe!"

Sophie slammed the door behind her, she dusted off her royal blue evening dress before heading toward the station.

It was a rather sunny morning, barely any clouds covered the gorgeous blue skies. Sophie watched small vehicles zoom through the skies and over the rooftops. It was quite a morning.

There was a festival being held and everyone was out this morning, not bothered by it being rather early. Sophie found it difficult getting to the train on time when she had to squeeze her way through herds of people.

She noticed a rancid smell, which to the normal human, was the smell of freshly cooked fish. She enjoyed fish despite everyone else in the castle, but she couldn't get away from the stench fast enough. Racing by some extravagant carriages, decorated in huge peonies and roses, nearby a group of men played their violins while men and women drank and danced.

On any normal day, Sophie would've stayed and watched, but all of this commotion made her want to crawl into bed and lock the door.

Finally, she arrived to the station, it was packed full of excited people, of all origins, she hoped the train wouldn't be too late arriving; she needed to leave a note at the store letting the ladies know that it was closed until further notice was posted.

Back at the castle, Markel had woken up just minutes after Sophie left and took it upon himself to have breakfast in the backyard and enjoy the garden Sophie had been working on. It was a nice, breezy morning and he knew it'd do everyone some good to get a breath of fresh air in their system.

"Would you like some chamomile tea?" Markel sat the old witch at the makeshift dining table, she shot him a toothy grin, nodding, snuggling Hein, who was in her lap.

Markel hopped up the steps and into the castle, running into the living area.

"Calcifer! I need hot water!"

Calcifer obliged as Markel stepped onto the stool, grabbing a nearby kettle, opening the latch and placing it under the running faucet.

"Do you think I should leave Sophie some breakfast?" Markel turned to Calicifer who reached for a hefty piece of wood.

"I wouldn't. She's going to the doctor to get some real medicine. Not that phony crap Howl makes."

"What do you mean? I remember I was so sick once I couldn't get out of bed. That was the only thing that saved me. I know it works! It's a bestseller!"

Markel hops off the stool, waiting for the kettle to heat up, he went to a cabinet by the stove, pulling out a jar of biscuits and jam, balancing them under his small arms.

"Well it didn't work for Sophie." Calcifer watched Markel head to the back of the Castle. Not paying him one bit of attention.

After Sophie had posted a note on the store's front door, she only needed to walk a block or two to get the medical center. Her stomach had settled down since this mornings' incident, but she'd promised Howl she'd visit the center if she were still ill. So here she was.

As she opened the glass door, a small bell hanging above it chimed, signaling Sophie's presence, she was expecting more people to be waiting to see a doctor, but it seemed to be she was the only one this morning.

Walking in she noticed a few old wooden chairs lined up against the wall, padded with dusty pillows, posters of drawn human diagrams and information on the center's hours. In front of her, was an empty desk with rusted bell and a card that read 'Back soon.'. Sophie decided to sit patiently for someone to arrive, she sat down, her small hands in her lap.

Not too long after, a younger girl entered through the black curtains in the back, that Sophie didn't notice until now.

"Are you here for an appointment?"

"I'm actually here for a walk in…is there a doctor who can see me? I know it's short notice." Sophie stood from her seat.

"Not at the moment. I have a nurse who can see you, I just need you to write down what your reason for seeing us is." The young girl explained, circling the desk, handing Sophie a pen and clipboard with a form on it.

"Thank you." Sophie nodded, smiling sweetly, returning to the chair.

"She will be with you momentarily."

With that, the strange girl disappeared in the back, leaving Sophie to write down her symptoms on the form, it didn't take her longer than a few minutes to get it all down. She wasn't certain if she should wait or go to the desk and ring the bell.

After five minutes or so, Sophie decided to walk up to the desk, she didn't want to spend her entire day waiting, her brown boots cracked the elderly wooden floors beneath her, the creaking was loud enough to catch someone's attention before she could ring the bell though.

"Hello dear, I am sorry for your long wait. My assistant failed to let me know I had someone waiting."

A woman wearing a sky blue dress, that had billowing lace at the hem and a pretty white apron emerged from behind the curtains, she had long chestnut hair that fell over her breasts, she wore small reading glasses, but her eyes were very large and breathtakingly beautiful, they were like green emeralds, that sparkled like stars against the sea, and her lashes were full, along with her pink lips. Sophie was taken aback by this woman's beauty, she wasn't sure if it was magic, but she was stunning; causing her to feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"It's okay. Here's my form. Thank you for seeing me so soon."

The nurse took the clipboard and directed Sophie to follow her into the back room, where there was a chair just opposite of a desk similar to the check in and with some medical equipment beside it, Which Sophie was not familiar with.

"I'm sorry you'll have to see me today. Our doctor is out…take a seat."

She made her way to the desk, lifting her spectacles on the bridge of her small nose. Her eyes widened as she read the form. Giving Sophie a quick glance before speaking.

"Sophie Pendragon?"

The woman repeated the name, glancing at the silver haired woman in front of her, who nodded quickly at her statement. The woman smirked and rested her elbows on the top of the table. Her hair pooling over the desktop.

"Do you by any chance know the wizard, Howl Pendragon? He's the only person with that last name that I know of."

Sophie stared at the nurse with confusion, slowly she nodded. "Yes, he is my husband."

A surprised gasp escaped the nurse's lips, startling Sophie slightly.

"You're married to Howl?" She questioned.

"Yes… how do you know my husband, might I ask?" Sophie didn't quite like the woman's initial reaction.

"We go way back…" the woman stood, form in hand, she glanced at Sophie as she leaned against the desk.

"We used to go steady, years ago…I'm just surprised. He didn't seem like a man who'd want to get married. That's one of the reasons why I left. That and how conceited he was."

Sophie was again, taken aback by this…woman, what sort of service was this? She could feel her heart pounding, sweat forming in her palms. Her mouth was dry with anger.

"…I can assure you, he's not the man he was. Can we please get to the reason why I'm here?" Sophie swallowed the dry lump in her throat. She had fistfuls of her dress in her hands. She tried her best to conceal the lethal mix of anger and jealousy building inside of her.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Pendragon. Let me look over this…you say you're suffering with nausea?"

"Yes, I promised my husband I'd come in to get checked. If you have any medicine available or even remedies that you can pass on, please do so."

"…Right."

It took her about five minutes to go over Sophie's symptoms, she was getting quite annoyed by this woman's lack of quality service, but by the looks of the nurse's face, it wasn't a stomach bug they were dealing with. Before Sophie could interject, the nurse stood, the heels of her flats slapped against the wood, creating a painful, loud noise.

"Have you been experiencing heightened sense of smell? Smells that usually are delightful seem…rancid?"

She peered over her glasses at the young woman in the lone chair, Sophie felt as if she were being put under a serious investigation, instead of a simple diagnosis.

Sophie thought about the baked fish and the pastries and nodded as she continued.

"Alright, have you noticed a spike in your libido?"

Sophie instantly thought of last night and the fantasies she'd been having at work of her Husband, she felt embarrassed answering, especially since this is one of Howl's old flings…Her cheeks gradually turned a light pink and she whispered. "Yes."

"Are your breasts sore? Swollen?"

"Why are you asking all of these personal questions? Is there something wrong?"

Sophie stood quickly, her dress ruffling as she did so. The nurse took a step back, sighing before saying a sentence that made young Sophie want to vomit.

"….I don't think you're ill, I think you may be pregnant."

There was a silence between the two, so quiet that Sophie could hear her heart beating heavily against her rib cage, she sat down, as she felt she may faint, her brown eyes were wide.

"W-what?"

"I'll have to take a blood test to be sure, I will have to send you the results in the mail. Are you okay? Do you need a glass of water? You look pale."

Sophie shook her head, her expression frozen in fear. She felt numb as the nurse prepped her for the blood drawing, all she could think of what the fact that she could be carrying a baby. Howl's baby. The Great Wizard's baby.

Before she knew it she was on her way home on the train, her mind still fixated on being pregnant. She fought herself on how true that could be, Howl had a spell for contraceptives, that he'd drink in the beginning of each month and it'd last the full 28-31 days, it was one of the more taboo spells he created, usually he'd sell them under the counter; but they still worked!

They've been married for about a whole year now. Sex was something they'd been partaking in since their first night as a married couple. This couldn't be happening. That nurse hasn't a clue what she was talking about. That nurse…it was just Sophie's luck to be seen by one of Howl's ex lovers, it made this situation that more difficult to digest.

Sophie stopped by the market on her way home to grab some fruits, as she picked some strawberries; she realized how she couldn't let Howl know unless it came back positive, she feared he'd lose his mind and throw a tantrum. She was never fearful of her husband, but she was afraid he'd be unhappy with the baby, or the thought of being a father; she wasn't too sure if he ever wanted any children. He always avoided the topic. As if he didn't want to acknowledge the possibility. It always struck her as odd.

"That'll be twenty dollars, Ma'am." The elderly man snapped her out of her daze, he held his shaky hand out, smiling as Sophie paid him.

She walked the rest of the way home, in her mind she was screaming, she didn't know what to think about this.

Sophie wasn't sure if Howl was home, she found herself hoping he wasn't.

She was wrong.

As she arrived she was greeted by Hein, she left the fresh produce in the kitchen and began to routinely greet the rest of the family walking through the castle, she found her husband in his study, which was a spare room on the ground floor. He set down a cylinder of red liquid to kiss her and wrap her up in a hug, the safe feeling she got from it made her want to weep. She already on edge.

"Calcifer told me you had to go to the center. How did it go? Did they give you medicine? I am still astounded that my magic didn't work."

Howl searched her face, she prayed he couldn't see how scared she was, thankfully he didn't.

"It was…interesting. It turns out that I must've ate something bad…like you said." Sophie lied, she felt terrible for it, but she couldn't tell him; she wouldn't.

Howl sighed in relief and stood up straight, his dark hair swaying with his movement. Sophie noticed his freshly cut hair, it wasn't as long as it has been the past week, though to be truthful, she liked how it looked long, he was even sporting a new outfit, by the looks of it he had to have conjured it up himself, a low cut, mid sleeve, oversized beige top that was tucked into his signature pants, but this time, they were white.

"Did you get a hair cut?"

Sophie changed the topic quickly, she could feel another question about the her day was brewing in his creative mind.

"Yes, I also got my shoes shined along with my nails. They were so dull." He chimed, mixing a red and green liquid into a large bowl.

"You look so handsome." Sophie watched the smile crack onto his lips, he loved when small things such as his hair, get noticed. He was like a woman at times.

"How do you feel?" Howl asked, opening his trusted spell book. His blue eyes glancing at her nervous form, she felt as if she were a troubled child, speaking up to the mad mother.

"I feel…okay. What do you want for dinner?" Sophie steered the conversation once again, she felt like he was suspicious now. Surely that was all in her head.

"I cooked. I made baked fish with lemon. Your favorite." Howl looked up, sitting down on the tall padded stool, leaning forward to see her better in the light.

Sophie was wide eyed, Howl never cooked, hell, he never lifted a finger unless he had too. Sophie couldn't stand the smell of the fish at the festival, they never make fish in the castle, she felt that familiar turning in her stomach…

"Darling?"

"Oh, sorry Howl, I'm just thinking."

"About?"

"The hat shop"

"Do you need me to open for you? If you're that worried about it, I'll do it."

What? Howl opening the hat shop? Why is he being so considerate? Does he know she could be pregnant? No, that's impossible.

"No, I think I'll be opening tomorrow if I feel better. Thank you. Don't you have errands?"

Howl shook his head, his bangs fluttering against his brows, those look newly trimmed too. He hopped up from his seat and circled the old table, stopping in front of his young wife, he peered down at her, his left hand raising to her soft cheek. Sophie almost forgot about the pregnancy situation, staring into his powder blue eyes could make any human alive forget every worry they had.

"I don't have to report to the king for a few days, I just have to help some of my clients. Aside from that, I'm all yours, my love." He whispered, pressing his lips against hers, which were quivering. Sophie accepted the kiss, she could feel the heat between her legs rise…

He pulled away slowly, a smirk ran across his mouth. "I can't stop thinking about last night, I thought it was a dream when I woke up this morning." He chuckled, pushing strands of his dark hair behind his right ear.

"What on earth has gotten into you? That was the most passionate sex we've had, since our wedding night, of course." He added, walking back to his work area.

"It's just been so long, I guess I broke under pressure." She shrugged, following behind him, he sat back down, returning to his reading. He nodded in agreement, opening the book.

"You can go have dinner, Markel cleaned. I'll join you for bed, I just need to figure out this spell."

That was his way of saying nicely: "Go away, I'm working.". Sophie decided she'd better make sure the castle was in order, or at least in some sort of order.

"Thank you for dinner, I bought some fresh strawberries and peaches." Sophie mentioned, before leaving.

"That's magnificent, we can start baking some more around here." Howl mumbled, flipping a page loudly.

Sophie shut the door softly, pressing her forehead against it, she hardly realized she was crying, she didn't want Howl to hear, but it was as if she were a river, the water just would not stop flowing.

Her vision grew blurry as her eyes flooded with tears, they fell to the floor beneath her each time she blinked, suddenly a very familiar dog scuttled between her feet, tears falling onto his tiny tuft of blonde hair instead. Sophie sniffled bending down to grab him.

Sophie held him close, her face buried into his fur as she quickly walked into the dining room, secluded from Calcifer and the old witch, anyone, really.

"Oh Hein…what am I going to do." She cried softly, plopping on to the chair, Hein huffed, laying his head on her right shoulder as she weeped heavily.

"Hein! There you are- Sophie? Sophie, why are you crying?"

Markel crept in on the two, surprising the young woman, Hein hopped off her lap, running circles around Markels legs, hopping ever so often.

"Oh, I'm just upset over missing work today, that's all. It's very important to me"

Sophie dismissed it, waving her hands and wiping her cheeks which were becoming raw from all the crying.

"Oh, well I was going to take Hein out to the lake! Did you want to join?" Markel grunted as he lifted the heavy dog.

"I'm okay Markel, thank you." Sophie stood, sniffling slightly.

"Don't worry Sophie, you'll get back to your hat shop in no time…" he grunted as he made his way to the front door, struggling as he did so.

"I hope so…"

Sophie was exhausted, not quite sure what it was due too, the possible pregnancy or being so scared you were pregnant that it sucked the energy out of you, either way. She wasn't hungry, she knew if she got into that fish she'd be in the bathroom the rest of the evening, so she skipped it all together and headed up to her and Howl's room.

She exchanged her evening dress for her night dress, this one was blue with the same silky material. She wore nothing underneath as she usually did, she practically fell onto the bed, sinking into it, she crawled under the thick blanket, she wasn't tired enough to sleep quite yet, it was the afternoon so she was usually on her way home from the shop. Besides, she found it hard to fall asleep, alone in that room.

Howl decorated it with strange lights that twinkled, wind chimes, spheres with a mechanical eye in the middle, that watched your every move. That's just to name a few, to say the least; it was unsettling.

"What will I do?" Sophie asked herself, she wasn't sure how long it took to test her blood, but she couldn't stand the anticipation; she wasn't sure what she wanted it to be. She always wanted a child, it wasn't a huge dream for her; especially now, she was quite young, almost twenty, she couldn't imagine having a child when she was younger, especially Howl's child.

Nonetheless, she'd be joyous to have the baby, the issue was her husband, Howl didn't seem like the fatherly type, he was always out on the king's demands, or in his study; of course when he had the time he'd be with her and the rest of the family, not to mention how melodramatic he is. She was certain if he found out he'd set fire the castle in a frenzy or worse. Howl was skilled in many ways, but dealing with life altering situations was not his best attribute.

Sophie sighed, shuffling on her side, she stared at the empty spot next to her, If she were pregnant, everyone in the castle's life would forever be changed.

"Did you all enjoy my cooking"

Howl hid the disappointment in his face, the fish had barely been picked at.

"You know Sophie's the only one who eats that stuff. It's gross…you don't even like it."

Howl chose to ignore the complaint that held truth, Howl wasn't a fond of fish, but he knew his wife was; he wanted nothing more than to bring a smile to her kind face, no matter how small the effort is.

Speaking of Sophie, she wasn't in the living area helping Markel with his study, which is what she usually did after dinner time.

"Has Sophie gone to bed early?"

"I think so, she was crying. She said she misses her shop, but I know she's lying."

Howl raised a brow, walking over to the young boy, who had a large book in his lap and a frown on his lips.

"Why do you say that?" Howl placed his hands on his hips, very curious to what Markel had to say about the strange situation.

"Because, I think she misses you. You're always gone and now that you are husband and wife, I think she wants more time with you."

Markel felt a pang of regret after his brave comment, the great wizard above him had a look of great hostility. Howl turned away, not looking in Markel's direction as his head tilted down, slightly ashamed, as well as insulted by the young child's remark.

"My powers are needed all over, Sophie knew this before taking my hand in marriage."

Calcifer sat in the small fireplace, a low chuckle rumbling from him, mixing with the crackling sounds of fire snapping.

"You can still make time." He said, also feeling a bit bashful by Howl's offended expression.

"Well, I wasn't aware that you two were professionals in marriage. If I didn't know any better I'd say you two are just jealous." Howl snapped, his dark hair rose as he swiftly turned to the archway of the room. The heels of his boots clicking loudly against the waxy floorboards.

"Now excuse me, enjoy the rest of your night."

He muttered before heading upstairs, his heart was racing with…pain. He knew Sophie must be hurting, from being so worrisome for his wellbeing and not getting enough time spent.

Howl rushed to the bedroom to be by her side, he made an oath on their wedding night, to always be there for her. He felt as if he were going against his word.

Without touching the door, it opened on his silent demand, swinging loudly.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" Sophie pressed her right hand over her heart. She was just on her way to make some tea before bed.

"Oh Sophie.." he rushed to her, caressing her ample cheeks, his eyes were rimmed with tears. Sophie felt her heart sink, did he somehow find out?

"Are you angry with me? For not spending time with you?" His face was overrun with melancholy, his eyes were narrowed and his full lips were tight as he awaited an answer.

"No, I'm just not feeling well. The nurse said it'd take a couple days to feel better. It's alright Howl, I know you're a busy man. I still love you." She placed a sweet kiss on his cheek, leaving him speechless for a moment.

"That's a relief, Markel told me he saw you crying. Is there something you aren't telling me?"

Sophie felt cornered, she clasped her small hands together, a small laugh escaping her.

Howl narrowed his eyes again, he stared at her blankly, Great, she was making it obvious.

"No, I've just been overwhelmed with the shop."

"I told you, I can help. If you'd let me. I'm not against opening the shop." Howl leaned in on her face, she could smell the different herbs he'd been using in his study, which was very odd; she never noticed a scent after he played with his magic.

"No, Howl. Please. It's not your job. Now, I am going to make some tea and make sure that old witch doesn't try to mess with Calcifer."

Sophie gently pushed him away, placing her hands on his strong shoulders, she could feel the muscles under the thin fabric, she gasped softly, her mind began to race again…

Howl noticed the soft breathy sound, a look of amusement washed over his features.

Suddenly, she was pinned against the bedroom door, Howl's thigh pressed between hers, his face was inches away from hers again, her breathing was shallow as he lifted her dress, bunching the fabric at her waist. Revealing her nakedness before him. She turned away in embarrassment and excitement at his racy actions.

He grabbed her by the jaw, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were dark with longing and lust.

"Kiss me." He demanded, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a heating kiss, immediately their tongues found each other.

Howl took this opportunity to freely roam her body with his hands, starting with her chest, Sophie whimpered into his mouth, he growled in return, massaging them between his palms.

Sophie leaned her head back against the door, catching a breath of air, moaning as he began to trail kisses against the nook of her neck, she arched her back at his touch, wanting him so badly to take her. He grabbed her by the back of her neck, smashing his mouth against hers.

Though Sophie was enjoying this rare encounter, her body wanting him so very bad that it almost hurt to rationalize with her mind; truthfully, this was her body acting out on its own will, Sophie was too nervous to continue with it. Which wasn't like her.

She halted him, firmly pushing him away with her small hands on his chest, he stared at her in dismay, feeling greatly disrespected when she turned from his kiss.

"What's the matter? Was it too much?"

He stepped away from her as she reconstructed herself, straightening her gown so it fell to her ankles.

"No, I just want to go to bed."

Sophie lied again, ignoring his sorrowful glance, without a word he left, again opening the door without lifting a finger. She turned to stop him, but the door slammed right in her face, she'd gone and upset him.

"Howl? What are you doing awake? Are you going somewhere?" Calcifer chided watching as Howl angrily stormed down the steps.

"No, I'm going to clear my mind. I am not having a great night."

"Is it Sophie?"

"She's not feeling too well, so I will not blame her. But, I am trying so hard to make her happy. I feel as though I am failing as a husband. My magic potion didn't work on her, so she's stuck in that room until she can function. It is highly stressful. I even found a gray hair, I'm barely thirty-one!"

Howl sighed, shocked at how much he burnt out just now. It did feel nice to speak to someone, even if it is a fire demon who resides in a messy fireplace.

"Which potion did you give her?"

"It's a best seller, it heals all ailments, Nausea, cough, headache. It works every time."

Calcifer was silent in thought, thinking back to when Howl created it and how come it didn't cure Sophie.

Then he remembered, the potion did not cure fatal illnesses or pregnancy symptoms. He could remember because long ago, a very angry pregnant woman through a fit in the castle after the spell did not work. Demanding her money back.

"Howl, do you remember when you created that potion?"

Howl glanced down at the talking fire, crossing his arms as he too, thought back years ago when he created such a staple in his work.

Finally, the wizard nodded, he could recall the success it had, Calcifer could see Howl was not fully understanding his question.

"Howl, do you think that maybe the reason it didn't work for Sophie, is because she could be pregnant?"

That struck a cord in Howl's heart, a look of complete fear ran over him, his face grew pale and void of life as he spoke.

"That is absurd, You and I both know why that can't be...Now, I am going on a nightly stroll, if Sophie asks, I will be back before sunrise."

Howl's demeanor switched from the charismatic, melodramatic spirit he was, to cold, stoic and fearful, Calcifer had known Howl his whole life, he'd never seen him that moved. He watched the great wizard pull his jacket off of the coat rack and quickly turn the dial, disappearing into darkness.

All the while, Sophie stood at the top of the stairs, afraid to breath, in fear Calcifer would notice and immediately tell Howl that she'd overheard their conversation.

Howl's last words stuck in her mind, as she fought the tears flooding the rims of her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I apologize if this is a short update. I want to save some of the 'fun stuff' for later chapters, I don't want to go too fast in this story! I enjoyed writing this chapter! Also, thank you for the review! It means so much to me knowing someone enjoys my story. Please, continue to review, if you enjoy, click that follow & favorie button! Thank you! Enjoy! **

**/**

Sophie awoke in the peak of the morning, it was quiet, empty in her room. A wind chime swayed to the right ever so slightly, emitting a soft tune. A ray of white light casted into the lavished room, disrupting her sleep.

Rubbing her sore eyes, she yawned, falling back into the soft cushion beneath her.

She rolled out of bed, sluggishly inching toward her dresser for an appropriate attire for the shop. Sophie changed quickly, placing the night dress in the hamper while making a mental note that she needed to do the laundry before the day was through.

Next, she made the bed, spreading the large blanket, carefully flattening any ripples in the fabric; Fluffing the pillows and lastly, leaving the room to enter the bathroom; Howl's to be exact. She grabbed a brush that sat by the sink, staring into the mirror, she noticed how youthful she appeared; not that she was old, but rather she looked how she did when she was seventeen.

"Howl must have some strange spell casted on this mirror…" she thought out loud as she brushed her silver locks, they'd grown quite a bit since Calcifer had chopped it off; her hair now lay just before the tops of her breasts, she was glad she could braid it again.

As she brushed her teeth she thought about last night, how she'd hurt Howl's feelings, he was very sensible when it came to intimate altercations; he always wanted to please her, exceeding her limit each time. But, that wasn't the only troublesome thought in her mind, it was the conversation between Calcifer and Howl.

Sophie wondered why Howl seemed so disconnected when Calcifer mentioned her possible condition, which made this whole ordeal much more intimidating to face for the young girl.

Sophie quietly snuck passed the sleeping members of the family, reaching for her hat, she was out the door, on her way to the station.

"Good morning, Sophie!"

Sophie's workers chimed in unison, as Sophie entered, a smile broke onto her face.

"Good morning, ladies."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better, Thank you. Do we have any orders?"

Sophie went straight into business, she felt energetic as she entered her small office that oversaw the town, the sun barely peaking over the hills.

Sitting down at her stool, scooting it closely to the desk that was riddled with sewing equipment and bare hats, canvases that needed a little creativity.

Taking a needle in hand, Sophie became lost in her favorite little hobby. Letting every little worry fly away.

/

"Markel! The door is ringing!"

Markel hopped down the steps, rushing to the living area.

"Which one?" He questioned jumbling for his magic cloak, that was jammed in the assorted drawers.

"Pendragon. Blue door. The only one that Howl uses for visitors now."

"You don't have to be rude about it…"

Markel pouted as he draped the blue cloak over himself, a long, gray beard appeared, cascading to his knees.

"Stand by." He mimicked a deep voice and answered the door, expecting a client, instead it was a mailman, Markel stared at him strangely, they hardly ever got mail now.

"Are you sure you have the right address young man?"

The boy nodded, pulling his cross body bag from his hip, it was overflowing with envelopes.

"Is this the residence of Sophie Pendragon?"

"Yes it is. Is there a letter for her?"

"Yes sir, it is very urgent. See."

The young boy held out a red envelope, Markel was hesitant to take it, but he was afraid he'd get in trouble if he didn't.

"I will deliver it to her personally. Thank you."

"Have a good day." The boy waved, Markel watched him return to his bicycle before entering the castle again.

"What is it?" Calicifer questioned as Markel placed it on the "catchall" table, he took off his cloak, jamming it back in its messy place.

"It's for Sophie." Markel held it up, shrugging his shoulders.

"It must be from the medical center. It's red, which means it's important."

"How do you know that?"

"Whenever Howl would get those letters, he'd feed them to me. Need I say more?"

Markel rolled his eyes and placed it back on the tabletop. He wondered what it was that was so important for Sophie, he hoped it wasn't bad news.

Just then, the dial tingled, the front doorknob turning as it opened, revealing Howl, who was drenched.

"Woah. What happened to you?"

Calcifer watched him hang his coat, running his hands through his wet hair, his clothing stuck to his skin, silhouetting his shape perfectly. He smiled kindly as he turned to Calcifer.

"It was pouring last night, I don't mind it much… What's this?"

Howl's smile flatlined as he pushed pass Markel, swiping the red envelope from the table, stepping toward Calcifer slowly as he read its regards.

"Oh no, I'm not eating that. It tastes bad. You can throw it away."

Howl halted, reading the front of the red paper again.

"To Sophie Pendragon…Urgent."

Howl read aloud, his brows furrowed as curiously got the best of him, he began to tear the top of the envelope.

"That's for Sophie to open." Markel protested, secretly hoping Howl would disregard that fact and open it anyway, which is exactly what he did.

"I'm quite positive it's just a letter confirming she got food poisoning. Why don't you take Hein to the bathroom? I don't want another mess."

Howl glanced at the small boy, who huffed stomping his left foot as he grumbled.

"Well, I want to know what's in the letter too!"

Howl returned to tearing the paper creating a loud ripping sound, he walked toward the table, taking a seat as he pulled the official letter out. Unraveling it.

The young wizard, lifted his left leg over his right, as he rested his right elbow on the hard surface of the table, he narrowed his eyes as he read the cursive writing before him.

"What does it say?" Markel peaked over Howl's shoulder, trying to follow Howl's quick eyes, as they zoomed left to right.

Without warning, a vase in the kitchen cracked, making a loud popping sound as it crashed to the floor, thick glass spread like wildfire.

"What the…." Markel turned to the loud noise. "What was that?"

A glass on the table began to shake ever so slightly before exploding. Markel hopped back, glancing Calcifer's direction.

"Oh no."

Calcifer muttered, staring at Howl, who was hunched over in the chair, gripping the paper in both hands now, his eyes wide and glazed over.

"What's happening?" Markel jumped as a plate that was aligned on the wall began crashing to the floor one by one.

"Howl's throwing another fit!"

Calcifer exclaimed as yet another miscellaneous item crashed to the floor, creating a pattern throughout the house, waking the old witch and Hein who scurried to the living area frightened.

"Howl stop!" Markel shook him, gasping as he fell forward, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

"Howl! Are you okay?" Markel ran to his side, Howl had passed out from the news he just received, Hein licked Howl's left cheek, nothing. Markel panicked.

"Did he die?" Markel shook his back, staring at the wizard's pale face.

"Don't worry about him. He's a giant baby, get the note, hurry!"

Calcifer demanded, watching Markel pry the letter from Howl's equally pale hand. He held the letter close to his eyes, skim reading it, as he did so, his brown eyes widened twice their size as he began jumping in joy. Hein mimicking the child's dance.

"Sophie's pregnant!

/

It was a slow day at the shop, but Sophie got everything she wanted done, she placed a lovely pink hat that had roses and hibiscuses sewed to the side of it. The flowers reminded the young girl of her wedding day, she sighed softly as she reminisced.

"Sophie, it's closing time."

An older woman that monitored the store's hours knocked on the opened door, pulling Sophie back from her trip down memory lane.

"It is! Well, you can go home now. I'm going to close it up. Thank you." Sophie sheepishly stood from the chair, carefully placing the hat on the mannequins head.

Sophie locked the door to the shop and began her trip home, she was thrilled to get back to the castle, she missed everyone, especially Howl…

On the train ride, she had an eery feeling that she just could not shake off, she glanced out the window, watching the buildings go by quickly.

Sophie hopped off the train, she still had that strange feeling that something was wrong, she ignored it as she walked home, waving at the kind salesmen at their stands.

Finally, she made it to the decoy, unlocking it and opening the door slowly, she was excited to see the happy faces behind the door.

Instead, when she entered, no one was at the stair top, not even Hein.

"I'm home!" Sophie chimed, taking off her hat as she stepped up the stairs, she had a displeased pout on her face.

"Calcifer, what's going on? Where is everyone?"

Sophie watched the fire demon nervously stammer as he spoke.

"Markel is in the master bedroom with Howl, that old witch is in the back yard, probably asleep."

"Why is Markel in my room with Howl?"

That's when Sophie noticed the disaster before her eyes, glass was everywhere, it was as if an earthquake attacked the castle.

"What happened? Is Howl okay?"

"…Howl did this. But yes, he's fine. He's recovering."

"Why would he destroy the castle?"

"You'll have to ask him yourself."

Sophie pursed her lips and carefully made her way up the staircase, gasping as she saw the hallway was littered with from picture frames.

"I am so tired of this…" Sophie mumbled as she lifted her dress, stepping over the puddles of debris.

Without knocking Sophie bursted into the door, Markel jumped off the bed, embracing her tightly.

"Markel…" Sophie patted the back of his head, her attention on her husband who avoided her glance.

"What happened, Howl. The castle is ruined."

Sophie furrowed her brows when he didn't answer, Markel pulled away, rushing to the nightstand to grab the wrinkled folded paper, he held it out.

"Before you read this, I want you to sit down."

Markel grabbed her hand, leading her to the end of the bed where she sat quietly, tears brewing behind her eyes, she assumed it was a drafting letter from the king. She accepted the letter, opening it, she was taken aback when she read that it was addressed to her, immediately she knew what this was.

'Dear Sophie Pendragon,

We have tested your blood and after 24 hours, the results came back as a positive for the pregnancy test.

I would like to arrange another appointment in regards to this thrilling news.

Congratulations. Have a great day.'

 **A/N: What a way to find out your pregnant! Anyway, next chapter is going to be a long one, so be prepared! I hope you enjoyed! Also, if you have any baby names, please let me know! If I choose one of yours I will credit! Thank you! Xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: two chapters in one day! Yay! I really have to say I am loving writing this story so far. I am so happy with this chapter. I hope it isn't too short. I had to stop myself from writing because I wanted every chapter to have somewhat of a cliffhanger! Anyway, please review,like, favorite! Thank you!**

10 months earlier~

"Today's the day…"

Lettie, Sophie's younger sister whispered as she squeezed her sister's hands, tears in her done up eyes, her nose wrinkled as she sniffled loudly.

"Oh Sophie…I am so happy for you. That you've found true love. Father would be so proud."

Sophie smiled at the thought of her father, she'd hoped he was watching over her today. Sophie, turned to the full length mirror, that was located in the basement of the shop, Howl had insisted in creating her dress, but she denied, wanting him to be surprised when he saw her.

Her dress was magical, without all the magic included; there were crystal like beads that weaved the gown, that hugged her small curvature, the material trailed behind her, lace at the bottom, the hem of the dress halted at her collar bone, the lacy material itching her skin there. The arms of the dress were made of lace, which escalated that itching feeling. But Sophie, for the first time, felt beautiful.

"You look…breathtaking. He is so lucky to have you."

Lettie brushed Sophie's silver hair into a lovely low bun, placing a red rose in the center. Beaming at the finished product.

"Thank you, Lettie."

/

As Sophie arrived to the ceremony, she was stunned at the beauty, The wedding took place in a beautiful field, much like the one he grew up in.

There was a white arch, with vines of green and purple flowers, pews of chairs and waiting for her was the love of her life. Her heart was heavy with excitement and fear.

He wore a white and gold tunic, with matching pants, even his boots were a striking white. He was always so handsome, so perfect, He was waiting for her.

Markel wore something similar to Howl, But in blue, he was busy keeping Hein on his lap and away from the cake. The old witch was aggressively hitting on the prince who Sophie once called 'Turnip Head'.

Sophie was happy to see her mother, who she hadn't spoken too since she found out she'd given Howl's location to Madame Suliman; who Sophie was shocked to see attend the wedding. Shocked that Howl even invited her. She even tagged along some of her henchmen along with her Husband.

Sophie took a deep breath gripping her bouquet of hibiscuses, before her was a curtain of purple violets wrapped around another archway draping over it, behind that curtain was her future; with the man she loved. A violin began to play, signaling her to walk the 'aisle' which was a stone path.

The young bride slowly emerged from the flowery drapery, a shy smile broke onto her face seeing Howl's reaction.

His glorious blue eyes widened, gasping slightly, his newly found heart began to thump heavily, he couldn't keep the smile from breaking his stern expression, he watched the guests stand and gaze at her beauty. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, she was…perfect. As she inched closer, he could hardly wait to kiss her lovely face.

The minister stood, clearing his throat as Sophie halted in front of the awestruck man, Sophie felt the anxiety wash away, as the minister went on, she gazed at him, as he did her. Ever so often she'd turn her attention to the guests, her mother was sobbing into a cloth along with her sister. How typical.

As the vows were brought up, Sophie was moved by Howl's promise to her.

"My Dear Sophie, you are the fire in my body, the wake of my soul, you gave me my heart, for which I am forever grateful, I promise to protect you, love you endlessly and never leave your side. You're the love of my life, you're what I fight for. So, I am honored to have you as mine, forever."

He spoke with ease, emotion, it silenced everyone. He reached forward to grab Sophie's left hand, placing the sparkling red diamond ring onto her left finger. Sophie took his hand and before placing the ring on his finger she vowed to him.

"I promise to love you, enduring the good and bad, I promise myself to you forever. I love you."

She slipped the ring on. Howl squeezed her hand.

As the couple said their 'I do's.' The minister pronounced them husband and wife.

Howl pulled Sophie into a swift kiss, as everyone clapped and cried in joy.

After the celebration, Sophie was sucked into conversations with her mother. In the midst of her mother's rambling, she noticed Howl and Madame Suliman speaking far off, away from the crowd.

By the looks of Howl's face, the conversion was unpleasant. Sophie watched them, Howl bowed to her as she called her henchmen.

Sophie felt a tap on her shoulder, turning she pleasantly surprised to see 'Turnip Head'.

The prince blushed slightly as he spoke to her, as he was still infatuated with the young girl.

"I wish you the best in your marriage. He is very lucky."

"Yes, I am."

A strong hand gripped Sophie's shoulder tightly, looking up she saw Howl, who had a very strong expression on his face. His eyes narrowed at the prince as he continued his sentence.

"Well, Young Sophie, I hope our paths will cross again." The prince took her small hand, placing a kiss against her skin. Her face flushed.

"Thank you for coming." She nodded, she could feel Howl's jealousy radiating off of him. The prince returned to the carriage that waited for him, he waved once more before leaving.

The newly wed couple were alone now.

"Howl?"

"Hmm?" He looked down at her, her brown eyes were full of curiosity. "What were you and Madame Suliman talking about? You looked nervous."

Howl hid the fear by chuckling softly, placing a nervous kiss on her lips, he pulled her into a hug.

"We were just catching up, she wants me to visit her sometime soon, don't worry my love."

Howl used his charm to steer Sophie away from the secret he was hiding. He couldn't let her know what that conversation consisted of. If Sophie knew, she may have never taken his hand in marriage.

/

"You lied to me, about possibly being pregnant!"

Howl sat up, so quickly it startled Sophie, his dark hair swaying like waves as he professed his anger. Sophie stood, furrowing her brows as she yelled back.

"You shouldn't be going through my things!"

"Don't you get mad at me. You kept this from me, why? Why did you lie?"

Howl's voice was deep with anger, he gritted his teeth as he waited for an answer.

"Because, I was afraid, You never want to speak about children…" Sophie hushed her voice, watching Howl roll his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He sighed before looking at her weakly.

"Sophie, you can't be pregnant. You just…can't."

Sophie stared blankly at the man before her, her eyes welled with tears as her lips began to tremble.

"How…how dare you…"

She began to cry, pulling away from his touch.

"You don't understand what this means for me…for us."

He explained, he knew what he was saying was…horrendous. But he knew it was the sad, awful, truth that he carried with him.

"Why? Why is it so wrong that I'm pregnant? We're married aren't we?"

"That is not the issue. You weren't supposed to get pregnant in the first place."

With a blink of an eye, Sophie reached forward smacking Howl in the face, her palm stung with the force of the slap. Tears streaming down her face.

"You guys! Stop fighting!"

Markel jumped onto the bed, the two had forgotten he was in the room. "It's bad for the baby…"

Markel stared at them, Howl was silent, again avoiding Sophie's angry gaze.

"You know, you may have a heart, but what you've said to me, was the most heartless thing I've heard come from you. I can't believe you."

Sophie whimpered, before rushing out of the room, slamming it behind her.

Howl sat in bed, his right cheek was red, he buried his face into his hands. Markel was silent, as he climbed off the bed, Howl could feel his judging glare.

Without lifting his head, Howl began to speak.

"What I'm about to tell you, has to stay between us. I cannot tell Sophie yet. She'd leave me."

Markel stared at his master, he pulled a lone chair over to the bed, climbing onto it. Howl leaned his head back falling back into the pillows, his gaze focused on the ceiling as he explained something he'd hoped he would never have to come to terms with.

/

"You remember our agreement. Correct?"

Madame Suliman pulled Howl to the side, the young man nodded quickly, his chest was tight with guilt.

"If she bears a child, it belongs to me and my kingdom. If I cant have you, Howl. I'll have the next best thing."

She caressed his left cheek, his expression never faltering, he nodded again, staring into her manipulating eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Does she know?"

She lowered her eyes, a sly smirk stretching her old lips.

"N-no. She does not. I don't plan on telling her."

A heart wrenching laugh emitted from the powerful woman, she covered her mouth as controlled her laughter.

"Oh, that isn't good. She won't be too happy with me…or you."

Howl winced at the ending of her statement, that pulled his heartstrings. Howl, glanced over at Sophie, who was enjoying time with her mother, he lowered his gaze shamefully.

"Well, I should leave. Next time. Invite me, I hate showing up uninvited." She grinned as Howl bowed.

Howl watched her leave with her henchmen, he sighed heavily, he couldn't let Sophie know about this horrible deal that he'd agreed to years ago.

/

"You promised the life of your firstborn child to Madame Suliman! Because you didn't want to replace her! What's wrong with you?"

Markel exclaimed, his face was red and hot with anger, staring at the visibly distraught wizard.

"I was a child. I had no heart. I didn't think I'd ever marry. Not until I met her…"

He trailed on, shutting is eyes tightly as another pang of guilt ran over him. He sat up lazily, tossing the blanket to his side as he stood up.

"Howl, you need to tell Sophie. She won't leave you, she loves you. You don't have a choice." Markel tried to speak some reason into Howl's upset mind.

"I know." Howl turned to look at Markel over his shoulder, who hopped off the chair to exit the room as well.

With the lift of a finger, Howl brought the glass pieces that flooded the home back together, embarrassed by his temper. He walked through the hall and down the stairs.

"Where is Sophie?"

Howl questioned the old witch and Calcifer who answered him eagerly.

"She went to the backyard. What did you do? She was sobbing. And what happened earlier? Are you listening!"

Howl ignored Calcifer as he rushed to the front door, twisting the dial and flinging the door open, slamming it behind him.

It was dark out, Sophie was at the balcony, staring at the clouds above her, the stars called to her, tears ran down her cheeks, her chest jolting as she hiccuped. She was so overwhelmed with the news that she is in fact, pregnant, and that her worse fear was true; her husband wasn't happy about life inside of her. Little did she know.

"Sophie…"

Howl called to her, a gush of wind blew through the sky, as if the universe was pulling him closer to her form. She was ignoring him, she fought the urge to turn in his direction, she kept her focus on the sky instead.

He inched toward her, keeping his distance.

"Sophie, I need to tell you something important. But I need you to promise me, that you won't leave after what I have to say."

Sophie went against her angry rule and turned to him, her hair flowing against her, the moonlight casting over her milky skin.

"What…do you mean?"

Howl fluttered his eyes shut as he spoke, he took a deep breath before opening them, tears in his eyes he spoke again.

"Please. I need to know you won't leave."

Howl raised his shaky hand, he'd never been so afraid of something, or someone, before.

Sophie stepped toward him, she could tell he was serious and that he was not overreacting. She grabbed his left hand, staring into his eyes.

"I promised you, I'd never leave."

She watched him fall apart as he told her why he reacted the way he did. Sophie felt a mix of fear, anger, sadness all at once.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I apologize for the long wait. I've been working like CRAZY lately & it's been so difficult to sit down & write like I want too! But luckily I've finished this chapter, onto the next! I am so excited! I am truly enjoying this story, I hope you all do as well. Also, thank you to the ones who have reviewed! It means so much! Also thank you for the views! Anyway, enjoy! **

***warning, lemon at the end.***

"I can't believe you signed the rights of your firstborn child to that crazy woman."

Sophie repeated that sentence three times now, those words felt numb on her tongue. She was too weak to cry, her body wouldn't- couldn't produce the tears. She stared at her husband blankly, not sure whether she should slap him again or not.

"I am aware that it was a very, VERY absurd decision. I was a child. I never imagined I'd settle down. Let alone have a child."

"That does not excuse the fact that our baby belongs to Madame Suliman!"

Sophie groaned, flopping her arms to her side, she couldn't believe this, it had to be a bad dream. Any moment she'd wake up…

…Except this was not a dream, it was very much reality. She could not wrap her mind around the fact that the child inside of her was the new heir to Suliman's throne. That thought alone made her shiver.

"How can we fix this?"

She questioned, desperately hoping Howl had a trick up his sleeve. She stared at him, hopeful. He bit his bottom lip as he spoke with remorse in his voice.

"I don't know yet. I'll have to think of a solution. Suliman is very sneaky. I wouldn't be surprised if she already knew."

"That's just great."

She paced by him, entering the castle again, Howl following behind her. She stomped up the steps, entering the living area.

"Sophie, are you pregnant? That's great news!"

The old witch shimmied her shoulders, her milky blue eyes widening with glee. "I can't wait to have a little one running around here! Hopefully they won't be so annoying…"

"Hey!" Markel pouted, sticking his tongue out at the old witch.

Sophie and Howl decided to keep this dilemma between them, It'd be no use in bring the family in on this negative issue; besides, this really was unhealthy for Sophie and her baby.

So, Sophie mustered up the best smile she could and stepped toward the old woman, who was spread on the couch an excited smile plastered on her face, Sophie took her hand in hers.

"Thank you. I am too. I can't wait…to-"

The tragic thought of never seeing her baby take his or her's first step, hear their first word or even witness their first magic trick; Caused poor Sophie to weep, wrapping her arms around the woman's large neck.

"I know you're nervous…you'll make a great mother."

The witch of the waste patted Sophie's back, unaware of the truth behind her tears.

Howl knew why Sophie was upset, it tore him up seeing her this distraught. He had no choice but to do something, anything to ensure that his child does not get taken away by Suliman.

Calcifer watched this all unfold in front of him, he knew Howl didn't want kids, he never knew why; he assumed that was the reason he threw a fit and that's why Sophie was so upset. He hadn't a clue.

Markel promised to keep quiet about Howl's secret. He still couldn't look at him the same. He was surprised Howl confessed to him in particular. Sophie still had no clue that the aspiring wizard knew as well.

"Sophie, I think you should get some rest…"

Howl wrapped his arm around her shoulders, she was sniffling erratically as she stood, wiping away the tears, Shuffling against Howl as they made it up the staircase.

"Goodnight, everyone. Thank you."

Howl sat her down, making sure she was comfortable.

"Howl…I know you must think I hate you now, I must admit, I'm very unhappy right now…but I still love you..."

Sophie mumbled, glancing over at him through her long lashes, he stood over her; draping the blanket over her body; kneeling down on one knee, he pressed his cold lips against hers.

"I am so sorry Sophie, I will fix this."

He placed his hand on her cheek, pressing his forehead against hers. "I love you."

"We will fix this. I love you."

Sophie watched him stand, his eyes never leaving hers as he spoke.

"Get some rest, I'm sure you're exhausted." He turned for the door, halting as she muttered to him once more.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"I'll be in my study. I am not tired. Not yet."

He spun around gracefully, leaning in to kiss her once more before leaving the room.

Sophie rolled over in bed throughout the night, every hour she'd wake up in a cold sweat, the overbearing news weighing in on her over and over, at last; she turned in for the night, exhaustion had gotten the best of the young girl.

But not for long...

"Sophie! Wake up!"

Markel barged into the bedroom, knocking over a stained glass lamp, along with a slew of other peculiar items, ignoring this; he hopped onto the bed, forcing the distraught girl to awaken with a fright.

"Huh? What's happening?"

She jolted upright, rubbing her sore eyes as she stared at the fire haired boy at the end of the bed, he ran to her side to prying at her arm as he jumped frantically.

"It's moving day!"

"W-what?"

Sophie allowed Markel to pull her out of the messy bed, she gasped at the mess in her room but had no time to protest, as she was being dragged down the stairs, she noticed Howl had the ritual in place, ready to go in the living area.

"What on earth is going on?"

Sophie exclaimed as she was still quite tired, it was too much for her to take in so early. She entered through the archway, as Howl kindly greeted her.

"Good morning, Don't worry. I let the shop know you'd be gone for some time."

"You what?"

"Well, you are having a baby my dear, you won't be able to work raising our child. At least for awhile…"

Sophie furrowed her silver brows as he continued, stunned by all of this.

"Now, last night, with the life altering news we all received…I decided it is best to move. This place is certainly not big enough to raise a child in. I'm certain you all agree."

Howl announced as he carefully lifted Calcifer from his nest of wood, who protested as he always did.

"Please, don't drop me…Please!"

"I wouldn't think of it."

Howl returned to the center of the room. In the middle of the chalk markings. He glanced at Sophie once more, as she was the only one standing, astounded by his words.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Where are we moving too? I don't understand."

"You will. Have a seat, I have a lovely place in mind, I designed it myself."

He assured her, his eyes following her as she took a spot in between the old witch and Markel, Hein hopping onto Sophie's lap, she grabbed onto the chunky dog as Howl raised his left arm, hues of pink and purple fire released from beneath him as Calcifer grew three times his size.

The familiar space around Sophie altered, she squealed as the couch they were sitting on rose from the ground, to think she'd be used to this by now…

Finally, it was finished.

The new renovation was Howl's best work yet.

The entry to the home was no longer a tedious staircase but a ground floor, Howl kept in mind that Sophie would be struggling a bit through the pregnancy and kept everything at an easy access.

Such as the master bedroom, it was now located on the ground floor near the new living room, it was marvelous, not overly decorated and cluttered with strange trinkets.

There was a bed large enough for two and a baby bassinet that was tucked in perfectly into the corner of the room, the rest of the room was very spacious, the walls were painted a lovely off white color, that matched the bedding, there was even a large window that oversaw a lake with a field surrounding it.

Sophie was awestruck as she entered her new room.

"I even made some clothes for the baby."

Howl opened the dresser's cabinet that was opposite of the bed, there was a large red and yellow gift box, along with new dresses for Sophie.

"Howl…this is magnificent. It's huge."

She brushed her fingers over the soft wood of the bassinet, looking inside she noticed a strange stuffed animal that resembled a cow and a horse.

"what is this supposed to be?"

"Ah, that was one of my favorite toys as a child. I'm not too sure…I made another room, for the baby, I want you to see."

He reached his right hand toward her, smiling as she took it.

He led her through the small hallway around the corner, Markel and Hein were running around upstairs, creating loud thuds.

Howl halted in front of the second door in the hall, opening it slowly.

"Oh my…"

Sophie gasped, taking a step inside, there was an enormous bookshelf, filled to the brim with books, toys aligning the top of it. A toy chest revealing a copious amount of assorted dolls.

The room was…huge, the ceiling was indented, a perfect dome, with a beautiful mural of the sky and a castle on a cloud that magically swayed.

"When you turn the light off, the moon comes up, along with the stars, which sparkle like diamonds.. This is my favorite room."

Howl noticed her amazed glance, stepping toward her he pulled her to his side.

"Howl, I don't know what to say…this is….it's more than I could ever imagine."

He smirked at her marveled compliment, admiring his own work. Sophie hadn't even noticed the crib, which was lavished with the same strange stuffed animals, it was placed in the center of the room, a mobile of sheep leering over it.

"Do you enjoy the color? I thought a lovely ivory would look nice. It compliments the room in my opinion."

"Howl. I am amazed. I can't believe you did all of this." She gasped as a toy butterfly flew passed her.

"Do you think it's a bit much? We can redecorate when the baby comes. I just think, for a small wizard this room is quite fitting. He or she will love it, growing up."

The toy butterfly landed on his index finger, he gracefully let it fly away once more. Sophie stared up at him, they both knew what was on each other's minds.

"What about…Madame Suliman?"

Sophie flinched as he pulled away from her, he walked toward the small window, glancing outside.

"I decided, moving was the first step in…resolving this problem we're facing. I am hopeful that she won't catch wind of your pregnancy. Sophie, she is very…good at getting what she wants. That is why it is important to keep this pregnancy between the family."

He turned to her, his icy blue eyes sparkling with the light of sun as he glanced at her sternly.

"That is why, I will have a midwife come and visit you, one that is not familiar with who I am or Madame Suliman. We cannot let unfamiliar guests into the home. Not even Lettie or your mother."

Sophie wrapped her arms around herself as she took this in…

"What about when the baby is born? I can't keep a child away from my family."

"We will come to that when it happens. I just can't stress this enough. You cannot share this news. I know it is hard. You will have to wear a decoy if you want to go to the market or shop, I know it sounds absurd. I just cannot risk you being seen. Once she realizes I've moved, she will suspect something."

"Can't you talk to her? She can't be that evil, maybe she's forgotten about it."

Howl sighed, rolling his eyes, folding his arms, as he spoke once more.

"You saw what she did to the witch of the waste. I've seen her do worse. Now, if she summons me, I will go to her. She just can't know that I've moved. Which should not be an issue. I've moved us very far away."

He explained, moving toward her, holding onto her waist he inched in on her face, his eyes boring into hers.

"It won't be like this for long. I assure you, that you won't be held a prisoner here. But I cannot let her win. I need to fix this."

He kissed her forehead, Sophie rested her head against his chest, hearing his heart thumping quickly against her was such a strange and beautiful feeling for her.

"Sophie! Did you see the rest of the house! It's huge…woah, this room is so cool!"

"Thank you Markel, this will be the baby's room."

Howl stepped toward the young boy who stood at the threshold, a look of amazement wore on his bright eyed face.

"Did you see the backyard? I even made you your own study…so you'd stop going into mine.."

Howl trailed on as he left the room with Markel to finish the tour of the newly improved castle.

Sophie stood in the center of the room, staring at the crib, she gently tapped the mobile, smiling as it began to rotate; a soft tune emitting from the device.

She knew she couldn't stay mad at Howl, though she was hiding it, quite well; she was angry, furious. But, she still loved him. She knew nothing could change that.

Sophie placed her right hand passed her stomach, she found it hard to believe she was carrying a life inside of her. A sense of great joy washed over her like waves of a current. Sophie noticed the rug underneath her, it was a fabulous sky blue, with whimsical clouds woven into it.

"This is the perfect room…"

She whispered to herself, furthermore venturing into the very spacious child's room.

/

As nighttime rolled among the household, and the excitement dwindled, the family resorted to their newly found bedrooms, at last the old witch of the waste had her own room, which she was thrilled over, even Hein had a small living space under the stairs, everyone loved the new home. It was like a true castle inside.

As for Howl, he sat in his study, which did not differ from his previous one, in fact he never truly changed his work station because of how accustomed he was to it.

He wrote in his spell book, a new potion he was creating, one that would help Sophie with her pregnancy symptoms, he knew she'd be feeling worse as the days went on.

Sliding over another book, which was a study on what happens to a women's body while pregnant, Howl flipped it open, skimming the index, his blue eyes were weary with exhaust from the day, along with the massive weight on his shoulders to keep Suliman off his back, thankfully he hasn't had to report to her for some time. He hoped it'd stay that way.

He rested his chin in his left hand, jotting down certain herbs that could be a candidate for the potion. The sounds of the pen against the thick ancient paper caused a soft scratching sound, the only sound in the large crowded room.

Just then, the door creeped open, Sophie entered cautiously, yielding a small tea plate with a matching cup, both chipped, she smiled at him when he noticed her presence, he peered at her through his dark lashes, a smirk broke onto his face, leaning up he beckoned her to join him.

"I made some chamomile tea, with milk and honey. It's hot, so be careful."

"How sweet, you didn't have too."

Sophie warned, her eyes following him as he took a cautious sip, then placing back on the plate.

"Sophie, dear, you can go to bed, No need to wait for me."'

"I know, but I'd like to go to bed with you in our new home, for the first night. It's not the same when you're not there.."

She batted her eyes sadly, smirking as Howl pondered over her words and released a sigh, standing from his table.

"Alright, you win this time."

He circles the table, wrapping his arm around her petite shoulders, leading the two out.

As the couple entered their new room, immediately they were in arms, lips colliding like the tides, soft moans emitting from each soul as they fumbled to the bed, Howl was on top, gazing down at his beautiful wife, whose chest was rising and falling rapidly, her gaze was lustful, she looked ethereal under the blue hues seeping through the window and into the dark room, Howl took in her beauty, his heart was beating so fast he was sure it'd fall right out of his chest.

He sucked in a breath as Sophie reached up to caress his cheek, she parted her lips slightly as she spoke with the same tone.

"I want you.."

He began attacking her with copious amounts of kisses, his hands moving over her slender body smoothly, she arched her back as he bunched up her dress, creating an easy access for himself.

Sophie allowed him to pull off the material, she blushed heavily as her bare chest came into view, watching as Howl leaned down to press his warm lips against hers, while his hands again began to roam her now naked body.

A surprised gasp slipped passed her as he inserted a single finger inside of her, she pulled on his shirt, begging for more.

He complied, doing as she wished, he began with slow circular motions, gaining soft moans from the girl beneath him. Sophie took a tight hold of his hand, arching her back as she could feel herself unwinding by the second, Howl noticed this and against her wishes, stopped; releasing a soft chuckle as she made a pouty noise.

Sophie bit her lower lip as she watched the glorious man above her unravel his clothing, revealing his rather toned torso, slowly undoing his pants, his eyes on hers as he did this; smirking slightly as he revealed himself to her, her milky skin gradually becoming crimson, he knew all to well how badly she wanted him, even if she was too afraid to admit it.

Howl aligned himself at her core, leaning forward to kiss her once again, her legs wrapped around his waist, signaling for him to take her.

He gripped her hips as he began at a steady pace, low groans escaping his mouth, his eyes never leaving her pleasure stricken face. She released silent moans, her hands gripping the linen beneath her.

She was tight around him, making it rather difficult for him not to lose himself, especially with how verbal she was being, her moans were enough for him to finish.

"Howl.."

She reached for him, her fingers intertwining with his soft dark locks, her breathing hitched as he picked up speed, gripping the steady headboard, Howl rammed himself into the young girl, whose head sank further into the cushion beneath her, fragments of words escaped her, tears of pure ecstasy flooded her chocolate eyes, wrapping her arms around his back, her nails digging into his silk skin.

He dipped his head into the crook of her neck as his grip on the now slick wood became shaky, biting her soft skin, causing another excited moan to prevail; his cheek was hot against her, his breathing was quick and hot as his thrusts became erratic.

A muffled moan slipped passed Sophie's lips as she came, her toes curling in on themselves, her eyes were shut so tight she could see stars, Howl followed behind her.

He rolled over onto his back, strands of his bangs stuck to his forehead, his eyes shut slowly as he tried to catch his breath. Sophie quickly got under the covers, embarrassed by her nudity. Howl chuckled again as he noticed her modesty.

"I am your husband, when will you stop being so shy. I love seeing you…"

He murmured, a slight seductive tone under his usual deep voice, he joined her under the blankets, pouting as she got up to gather a night dress; still he admired her form.

"Just because we're married does not mean you get to see me naked whenever you see fit."

She blushed as she noticed his distracted glances, quickly draping herself in the material, noticing how large it was.

"Howl, did you mess with my clothes?"

Sophie pulled on the silky fabric, glaring up at her husband who was resting on his elbow, face in his hand, a mischievous smirk spread across his lips as he spoke.

"Well, you will show at some point. I figured it's easier to adjust the clothes now."

Sophie huffed and closed the dresser's cabinet, returning to the bed. Howl leaned in to kiss her cheek, causing her giggle sweetly.

"Aren't you tired?"

Sophie questioned as she yawned, resting against the pillow, facing him again.

"Not really, I'd like to do that again though…"

Howl used his charm, thinking he'd win over Sophie, to his dismay, she kissed him one last time before turning opposite of him.

"Goodnight. I love you."

She mumbled, smiling as he kissed the back of her head, whispering softly to her. "I love you."

Sophie fell asleep with ease, excited for the next day's adventure. Trying her best to keep the fact that they're running away again, she couldn't afford to be upset, not when she has to fight for the right to keep her own child.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Like I said, works been wild. Especially during the holidays! Anyway, I enjoyed how this one came out! Let me know what you all think! Thank you for the views!**

Howl entered the bedroom, quietly kicking the door closed behind him, a smile spreading across his lips as he neared the sleeping girl, who resembled an angel as she slept. Howl kissed the young girl's forehead, brushing away any stray strands, watching as her eyes tightened, pulling the blanket over her head.

"Good morning, My love.."

"Mm, Howl…it's too early…"

She grumbled, annoyed that he was still standing over her. Usually she was the one who had to nag him out of bed…

"Sophie, I need you to get up. I made oatmeal, with strawberries, you haven't been eating much…"

He set a silver tray alongside the nightstand, resting his hands on his hips. "I will force you out of bed."

"You wouldn't."

Sophie mumbled, turning around, slowly falling back into the sweet lull of sleep, when suddenly the sheets she had a death grip on; flew off, startling her, she jolted up; her back against the headboard.

"I think you're underestimating me. Now eat, then get ready. We're going to make that midwife appointment."

Howl clapped his hands, Sophie turned to him with a very aggravated expression, slightly stunned by how quickly he got up and got dressed, then again, she wasn't surprised, he took great pride in his looks, any reason for him to doll up.

He placed the tray on her lap, nodding to her to eat. She wasn't hungry, but she knew she had to eat, not just for her, but for the baby.

Picking up the silver spoon, which was moderately clean, she began her breakfast as Howl hurried to the dresser to lay out her dress.

"You always wear that blue dress, how about pink?"

He suggested, holding out a frilly pink dress, he furrowed his brows; he couldn't picture Sophie ever wearing something so extravagant…she had a very tame style.

Sophie swallowed the surprisingly good oatmeal and answered with a less than pleased tone.

"I like blue. It's my favorite color."

"It shouldn't matter really, you'll be wearing a decoy on our way to the midwifery. Blue it is!"

That's right, a decoy. Sophie wasn't able to step foot outside without wearing some sort of costume. She wondered what Howl had picked for her, not that he gave her a choice to begin with. Howl placed a baby blue dress with white trim onto the bed, again his attention drifted to her.

"Is it good?"

Sophie nodded, finishing the small bowl, smiling up at her husband as he took the tray. "I made sure Calcifer made hot water for your bath, it should be ready now."

And with that Sophie began her day, once she was done in the bathroom, hair braided to the side, face washed, dress patted to perfection, Howl handed her a red hooded cloak, as he grabbed his essential red and blue coat off of the rack in the new living room.

"You'll need to wear the hood for it to work. It was the quickest one I could make in such short time." Howl directed.

"Why does Sophie have to wear that ugly thing?"

Markel commented as he entered the room, sitting on the new crimson velvet couch, sneaking Hein some oatmeal.

"Aren't you supposed to be eating in the dining room?" Howl chided, watching the young boy and dog scuttle away.

Howl adjusted the jacket on his shoulders, insulted by the young boy's remark, Sophie decided to ignore Markel's brutality and draped the cloak over her, slowly stepping toward a hanging mirror in the living area, gasping as she stared at herself in the mirror.

Staring back at her was a middle aged woman, with the same silver braid and chocolate brown eyes, her usually smooth skin was thin and old, crows feet behind her eyes and smile lines.

"Howl, why am I old!"

Sophie exclaimed, glaring at the wizard who sighed, crossing his arms. "Because, to the outside world, you're my mother. It's the perfect decoy."

"Why do you have to wear a disguise?"

Calcifer chimed in, sitting at his new fireplace, which had a neat black metaled gate around it.

"This'll do for now and I want to test a new spell out. Thank you for your concern, Calcifer."

Howl spun around to twist the dial, Sophie stepped away from the mirror to join him. "We will be back." Sophie waved as she was led out the home and into the outdoors, sucking a breath in as she took in the beautiful sight.

They lived right at the heart of this small town, which was littered with stands, jewels, clothes, potions, you name it, they were selling it.

"Wow…it's beautiful."

Sophie held onto her hood as a carriage tumbled close by trailing a cloud of dust, Howl pulled Sophie to his side harshly. "Watch where you're going." He glared down at her, her face washing in a soft shade of pink in embarrassment as she nodded.

As the two began their walk, taking in the amazing items around them, Howl was stopped by a young girl, about Sophie's age, who was selling shells from all over the city.

It was quite evident why the girl stopped him.

"Here, this one is my favorite…"

The girl, who had blonde hair that stopped at her shoulders, placed a seashell in Howl's palm. Her face went red as he thanked her. Sophie rolled her eyes at this.

"It's very beautiful. I love how it shines in the sun…"

He held it to the light, which caused the veins in the shell to glimmer with blues and yellows, much like Howl's eyes, the girl sighed lovingly as he did this, Sophie stood by as this whole ordeal unfolded.

"I think I'll buy it. How much?"

Howl tossed it in his palm, a charming smile spread across his soft lips, the girl stuttered as she spoke.

"Oh, you can have it. I can tell it belongs to you, a connection like that shouldn't cost money.."

She blushed as Howl placed the small shell in his pocket, grabbing the young girl's hand and placing a soft kiss on it.

"Thank you. Have a good day."

Howl turned to Sophie who was evidently jealous and plain angry, he could tell by the way she turned from his gaze, he turned back to the girl behind the stand; realizing that she hadn't a clue his wife was next to him, as all she saw was a middle aged woman.

"My wife will love this. It's just as beautiful as she is." Howl added, watching as the girl gasped and frowned, quickly smiling again as she didn't want to upset a customer. Especially Howl.

"She's a lucky lady."

"I'd say I'm the lucky one." Howl nodded to the girl, bidding her a good day as he returned to Sophie's side who forced a smile.

"I think you're cute when you're jealous."

Howl muttered as Sophie linked her arm through his, her gaze never meeting his.

"Be quiet."

Howl chuckled, leading them to a train station similar to the one in Sophie's home town, though this one was much smaller in size.

"How far is this place?"

"It's just on the other side of town. I got a map of this town. Don't worry."

The two waited for the train, luckily it wasn't a long wait; it was quite awkward for Howl to ride a train, he hadn't be on one for ages, but now that he's used to the castle and his magic, public transportation has become his last resort. But he needed to be tame, little to no magic in public.

On the ride, every woman, varying in age gawked at the handsome wizard shyly, even a few old wives were turning heads, their husbands pretended it didn't bother them. Sophie noticed this while Howl was to busy pointing out the different shops and why he chose to move to this town, she let out a sigh glancing out the window to her right as he mentioned a particular floral shop, taking in the new, unfamiliar buildings, with the equally unfamiliar people.

Howl noticed her silent behavior, and squeezed her frail hand, causing her to jump slightly, turning to him, he smiled sweetly.

The train arrived to a new station where more than half of the occupants got off, including Howl and Sophie, as they wiggled through the small crowd, Sophie held onto Howl's hand as she hopped off the vehicle.

"Now, it should be a couple blocks down."

Howl linked his arm through hers once again as they left the station full of strangers, who took a liking to her husband.

"How do you like the town so far? I think it's beautiful."

"I think it's lovely too."

Sophie agreed, catching up to his quick pace.

At last, they arrived to their destination, a small out of place white cottage with a sign in the window, claiming to be a midwife clinic. Sophie furrowed her brows it looked a bit strange to be a midwifery.

"Now, when we go inside pull down the hood, I don't think they'd take us seriously if you arrived like that."

"Thanks, Howl."

Sophie mumbled as they entered through the door, a sing-song melody emitting from the bell above the door, Sophie pulled down the crimson fabric, she could feel her skin returning to its youthful fluster, it was quite strange and unnerving.

"Welcome, do you have an appointment?"

A short elderly woman scuttled behind a large desk, the entire waiting room was rather large and quite inviting, like a home.

"We don't-"

Sophie began, shocked as she was rudely cutoff by the assumingely kind woman.

"Then you will have to leave. We do not accept walk ins. Under any circumstances. Come back when you've made an appointment."

She slammed a heavy book onto the desk, shaking the poor table, opening it.

Sophie stood silently, wide eyed at the woman, watching as Howl calmly approached the desk, swiftly taking her withering hand which was adorn in jewels. He bowed to her, a charming smile spread across his lips as he spoke.

"My wife needs your services, I believe that it is the best in town. If you'd be so kind to grant us this one visit, I will assure you we will make future appointments."

Sophie watched in awe as this old lady fell under his charm like a mouse in a trap, she blushed heavily as he kissed the top of her hand, he stepped back awaiting a answer. Fanning herself as she spoke.

"This one time…one time! Just sit here and wait as I go get someone..."

"Thank you." Howl nodded, smirking as she swooned and disappeared around the corner.

"Is that how you win people over?"

Sophie raised a brow, she knew he meant well, but it was so difficult watching her husband charm other women and watching them size him up. It was quite annoying and Sophie felt a bit jealous to say the least.

"I can't use magic now can I?"

He shrugged, chuckling at her attitude.

"Don't get jealous, I only have eyes for you."

Just then, a red headed woman who wore a yellow floral dress and a cream apron appeared around the corner that the old woman vanished behind. She gasped loudly as she hurried to Howl's side, wrapping him in a surprise hug. Practically leaping onto him.

"Howl! Is that you? What did you do with your hair!"

She squealed as she held onto him tightly. Sophie was dumbfounded and beyond tired of this, in fact. She wished she stayed at home all day. The woman let go of the confused man as he straightened up right and adjusted his coat, staring at the woman oddly.

"Don't you remember me?"

"I don't, I apologize." Howl glanced at the woman, he truly hadn't a clue who she was. He'd met so many women throughout the years she didn't seem familiar.

"It's me, Lydia! We met years ago when I was selling jewelry with my mother."

Howl's face ran white as he remembered the girl, she was one of the many girls he'd dated, this one in particular was quite annoying and from the looks of it, hadn't changed. He remembered her very well…

"I see, now that you mention it, I do remember you."

"I knew it. When I heard there was a handsome man with a red and blue coat out here, I knew it was you! I had to come out and see for myself."

She spoke so fast it made Sophie's head spin, though the girl was loud and irritating she was beautiful, Sophie could see why Howl took a liking to her, especially with her long red hair, sepia eyes and red lips and her obvious large assets, which Sophie was not graced with.

"How kind, are you the midwife?"

Sophie interjected, not wanting to waste another second watching this unfold.

"Oh no, my mother is. But she's sick, so I'm here. We own this business, I'm only qualified to give you the proper vitamins and I can determine how far you are by a blood sample. My mother can properly help you. But she won't be back until next week."

Lydia explained, giving Sophie a strange stare, her red lips pursed as she turned to Howl again.

"Is this your cousin Howl?"

Sophie rolled her eyes and clenched her fists, if she wasn't pregnant she would've given this woman a piece of her mind…

"No, she is my wife. She is expecting.."

Howl cleared his throat as he became aware of the evident infatuation this girl had on him and her apparent jealousy as he addressed Sophie.

"I see. It's nice to meet you, I cannot wait for your baby to be born. How exciting."

Lydia gripped Sophie's small hands, her brown eyes glared at the silver haired girl. "Now, let's get down to business…"

In the room, they had a very homelike bed with sky blue sheets and pillows adorning it, there were chairs against the wall opposite of the bed, the voluptuous woman grabbed a clipboard from a shelf by the doorway and began jotting something down.

"Now, you're quite young…do you mind me asking how old you are?"

"I'm twenty."

"I see, I'll have to get your weight and height before we get the blood sample. For now I'll give you some vitamins that are essential for the first trimester."

As Lydia spoke she kept glancing at Howl who ignored her eyes, he was so embarrassed and shocked at this, he knew he had explaining to do.

"Here, some prenatal vitamins."

The girl opened a cabinet above the chairs and pulled out a small black baggie, waving it in Sophie's face. Howl took the small bag from the woman's grasp and placed it in his pocket. "Thank you."

"Take these daily, now come, lets get that sample, it shouldn't take long to determine how far you are. You can stay here or in the waiting room." She glanced at Howl and back at Sophie.

Lydia led the young girl out of the room and into another across the hall, Sophie felt strange being alone with this girl. First that nurse and now this one?

After she got her weight and height down, Sophie sat at the table and let the girl take her left arm, prepping it for the needle, she slapped on some gloves. Her honey eyes watched her like a hawk.

"How did you and Howl meet?"

Sophie didn't want to get into the strange tale of how she met Howl, so she simplified it. Being careful with detail, slightly twisting it.

"I met him a few years ago, he needed a cleaning lady and I happened to be the one who answered the ad in time."

Sophie flinched as the needle was pushed into her vein.

"Cleaning lady? That's a job for an old woman."

"I needed the extra money."

"Hm, well…It's lovely that he married you…"

Sophie could sense the envious venom radiating off the woman as she collected her blood. Their eyes awkwardly meeting.

"I met Howl when I was twenty, he was twenty-four then. It's so strange that he married such a young girl like you.."

"He's not that much older than me."

Sophie glared as she pulled the needle out, a fake smile plastered on her red mouth.

"I bet he's just using you. You know that? He takes young girls and uses them. He's a heartless man, it won't be long before he throws you aside."

Lydia snatches the vile of blood and places it in her apron as she smiled at the insulted mother to be.

"You don't know Howl, he's changed, he does have a heart. You're just jealous."

Sophie stood, watching the offended girl burn ember as she narrowed her made up eyes.

"How dare you, I am trying to help you. He's dangerous."

"No, you're not helping me. You're just mad because he's not yours."

Sophie exclaimed, spinning around to exit only to be met with the door slamming in her face harshly, Sophie turned around quickly, gasping as the girl inched toward her.

"Don't think for a second I don't know who he is, I was his apprentice. I know him more than you ever will."

Sophie held her breath as the girl swung the door open without moving a muscle, immediately Sophie left the establishment, tears flowing from her eyes, she ran passed Howl as she left, not even looking at him. Before he could run after her, he was stopped.

"I don't think she's good enough for you. You deserve to be with your kind, Howl."

Lydia entered the waiting room, arms folded, a sly grin on her face.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing. She's just so emotional. Weak."

Howl ignored this, knowing that something did happen, Sophie wasn't one to get upset that easily.

He ran after her, afraid she'd gotten lost, luckily she was close by, she was crying alone by an abandoned shop nearby, he approached her with caution, knowing fully well that she was probably angry with him.

"Sophie…what happened?"

"I never want to see that woman, or her mother! Find another midwife, I don't care. I just want to go home."

"What did she say to you?"

"I want to go, now. I don't want to talk."

Howl sighed and gave in, all the way home, Sophie didn't speak or as much as look at him. He thought of what could be upsetting her and what that woman said. He knew Lydia must have mentioned their past. Which was something he liked to forget.

As they arrived home, Sophie immediately marched to their room, not even a single 'Hello' or a simple smile, the rest of the residents in the castle noticed this.

"Howl, what did you do to her? She's pregnant, you know. You have to be careful."

The witch of the waste sucked in a cigar, taking a deep breath before exhaling a cloud of ash like smoke, she laid over the couch, watching Markel on the hard wood floor, study his wizardry with Hein who slept and hiccuped here and there, his floppy ears jolting up when he did so.

"I have done nothing, what did I say about smoking? Especially with a baby on the way. Give it here." He demanded, leaning down with his hand out, his brow raised. Howl grunted as the witch let out the cigar in his palm, the small flames spat at him as she jammed it into his magical flesh.

"Don't give me attitude.." she winked, puckering her dry lips, again, Howl ignored her, clenching his fist so the cigar would dissolve.

"How do you keep getting these?"

"I have my ways.." she scoffed, her old eyes glancing at the anxious man, who threw the remains at Calcifer who groaned and yelled.

"What's for dinner?"

Markel grumbled, sitting up on his knees, closing his massive spell book, looking up at Howl questionably.

"I haven't a clue."

"Are you going to cook?"

Howl had to work on his magic, then again, he really needed to go see Sophie, but he was afraid she'd let loose on him…looking at this situation made it clear, he had to cook; he sighed heavily and turned to Markel once more.

"Looks like it. What do you want?"

"Can we have the chicken?"

"That'll take hours…" Howl complained as the child followed behind him to the kitchen, Hein scuttling along, his round belly hitting the soft wood beneath him.

"Yeah, but Sophie wouldn't care!"

"Well, I'm cooking tonight. You'll enjoy it."

Howl turned over his shoulder at Markel who rolled his eyes and sat on a lone chair in the kitchen, watching angrily as Howl prepared dinner.

Howl decided to make a basic soup, one that his Aunt would make when he was young, he enjoyed it and it was one of the only recipes he knew by heart. As he began, he thought of Sophie and how upsetting this all was to her. It wasn't healthy for her and he was beginning to worry if it would effect the baby.

He knew he'd have to explain the situation with Lydia and how she used to be his apprentice and how they had dated for sometime…he chopped some onion and quickly tossed the produce into the boiling pot.

In the bedroom, where Sophie laid on the welcoming bed, she clutched a pillow to her damp cheeks, gazing into the hazy room, lit with the tender light from the window, in the distance she could hear the commotion enduring throughout the home.

She felt a bit lazy just staying in bed and quite a bit rude with how she entered the castle, but she was so distraught with what just happened…it was hard not to run to her bed and cry. She didn't even get the chance to find out how far she was.

Sighing, Sophie sat up, holding the pillow in her lap, her eyes were raw and wet, cold from the breeze of the air drifting over the drying trails of tears on her cheeks.

Wiping them away she decided she wasn't going to let her hormones get the best of her. She still had to tend to the castle, whether she was a cleaning lady or not.

"Sophie!"

Markel hopped from the chair, attacking Sophie with a longing hug around her waist, he looked up at her with wide eyes and a bright smile.

"I've missed you. I learned a new trick today! I can't wait to show you!" He beamed, unraveling himself from around her, Sophie glanced over at the hilarious scene, Howl cleaning, it was a rare moment for him, it was quite funny; as he hated it and wasn't very talented at it.

"Howl's making soup. I wanted the chicken, but he's too lazy to cook it."

"I can hear you, you know." Howl mumbled, not bothering to turn around, placing a clean plate on top of a chipped bowl.

"It's okay Markel, we can save that for another night. Why don't you go take Hein to the bathroom? I don't think he's been out yet."

Markel nodded and ran after the chunky dog who was sound asleep by the fireplace. Leaving the couple alone.

"It smells nice. What is it."

Sophie peaked over the tall man's shoulder quietly, she could feel the tension between them, it was as if they were drowning.

"It's a secret. My Aunt used to make it for me, especially when I was sick." Howl murmured, returned to the large pot.

"Do you want me to finish dinner?"

"No, it's alright. What sort of husband would I be if I made you finish dinner?"

"I'm not a giant yet, I can still cook and clean."

"I forbid it. Now, if you'd like you can go relax."

Sophie rolled her eyes and scoffed, her messy braid swaying behind her as she judged his cleaning abilities, circling behind him, though secretly she was letting out her jealousy over the "Midwife's daughter", Howl knew this.

"You know, I may not be the old little cleaning lady as I once was, but I sure feel like I am sometimes."

She mumbled, narrowing her eyes as she peaked at him coyly, his gaze focused on the almost overflowing pot, his lengthy lashes swooned over his ample cheeks, her stare must have caught his attention, his charming blue eyes lingered toward her sour expression, furrowing a brow in question.

"If you need help, then just say so. No need to complain about it." Howl smirked as Sophie let out an audible offended gasp, her small mouth opening to speak but closed it tightly, turning to the filled sink, rolling her sleeves up and snatching a barely cleaned spatula, tossing it into the warm sudsy water, each action exaggerated.

"Sophie, are you jealous?"

"No."

"Sophie, I know you're lying."

"Oh, so you're a mind reader now?"

Sophie pulled her hands out of the water, placing her wet hands on her hips, glaring at Howl, he stepped away from the stove to turn to her, folding his arms as he found this quite adorable and slightly annoying, as he's never seen this side of her.

"Tell me the truth." He demanded.

"Well, how would you feel if a bunch of tacky men were throwing themselves at me? Especially one that I had a love affair with!" Sophie hissed, angry tears collecting the rims of her already sore eyes. Howl stared at her, his arms falling to his sides.

"Sophie-"

"No, I don't want to hear it."

Sophie shook her head as she stormed out of the kitchen, passing Markel through the archway.

"What happened?"

Markel questioned, glancing at the obviously moved wizard who turned off the burning stove and turned to the young boy, forcing a smile that terrified him.

"Dinner is ready."

"Are you okay?" Markel's gaze followed the tall man out of the kitchen. Howl ignored the question, instead he went to find Sophie, who was in the backyard, sitting at the small bench, gazing at the lake that sparkled against the tired sun.

"Sophie, there you are."

Howl swung the back door open, his dark hair flowing with the chilly wind. Sophie ignored him, like a small child.

"Sophie, talk to me."

Howl stepped off the small step and stood over her, glancing down at her.

"Can you please tell me what happened? I can't help if you're ignoring me."

Howl spoke again, nothing, just as he was about to give up, she cracked.

"That girl. It just bothered me, the way she spoke about you…the way she looked at you. It's nothing like the witch of the waste, this is different. She's beautiful, she's a witch.."

Sophie didn't dare to look up at her husband who was dumbfounded.

"Sophie, looks don't matter, I don't care about that anymore, I love you, I even loved you as an old woman, I don't want her. I admit there was a time where we worked together and I thought she was beautiful, but she showed me through her soul that she wasn't anything close to it, but you, Sophie, you're the most beautiful, perfect, priceless soul I've ever met."

There was a moment of silence again.

Howl stumbled back as Sophie leaped into his chest, her arms wrapping around his small waist, she took in his pleasant scent, his warm skin that peaked through his top pressed against her cold cheek, she smiled widely as he too wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry Howl…I let my insecurities get the best of me…" she mumbled into his chest, her teary eyes glancing up at his.

"Don't apologize for how you feel, I understand. And to answer your question, if a bunch of tacky men were all over you, I'd turn them into dust." He smirked as she giggled, pulling away from him, their hands intertwined, Howl leaned in to kiss Sophie's cold lips, she closed her eyes in bliss as he kissed her, letting go of her hands as he cupped her small cheeks, which began to burn at his touch.

Just then, interrupting the sweet kiss, the witch of the waste slammed open a small window that was above the bench, she held yet another cigar, releasing its toxins into the fresh air, flashing the couple a toothy grin, Markel squeezed in by her side with a nervous smile.

"Master Howl, Hein got into your study and broke some of your glasses, I'm sorry! We were running around and the door was open and he ran inside and bumped into the leg of the table pretty hard." Markel held the guilty dog up, who huffed in a sorrowful expression.

"It's fine, as long as no one got hurt, everything will be fine." Howl squeezed Sophie's hand as they entered their home once more, She felt as if she hadn't accomplished much with the pregnancy, but she knew it was only a matter of time before this baby was here and she knew she needed a plan and fast.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: so sorry this took so long to post. As I said, work has been on my ass! Please enjoy & thank you SO much for over 1k views! At only 7 chapters! & Welcome to any new followers! Thank you! -**

Almost two months had passed, Sophie had learned she was only nine weeks after that horrible midwife appointment; they had since received a letter with an apology attached to it, along with a coupon for any future appointments they might want to make with the establishment; Needless to say, Sophie teared the apology and the coupon up, disposing of it immediately.

There was no way she was stepping a foot in that business again.

To replace the midwife position, Howl had found a retired one who went by Olivia, he found her through the newspaper, who was very willing to help Sophie as long as she was getting paid; which was understandable, she was very kind and skilled in the field, she even gave Sophie a special calendar that had reminders of future appointments and markings for which trimester she was nearing or enduring at the time.

It was quite convenient and Sophie didn't have to worry about her throwing herself at Howl; since the woman was married and had children of her own. Happily as well.

Sophie's body also began to change, she was just barely showing, being almost four months now, her abdomen formed a small mountain. It was rather excited watching her body change and also quite overwhelming. She was moody now, bossing everyone around, not to mention the cravings, it was hard wanting nothing more than strawberries or peaches when they weren't in season.

On this particular morning, Sophie was trying to keep warm by fixing hot tea and soup for the family, the holidays had just passed and everyone was just getting into the groove of things again.

"Markel, please don't keep the door open so long. It's snowing and it's freezing out there."

Sophie called out as a breeze of icy air plummeted itself onto her back; even the thick fabric of her indigo dress couldn't withstand the wind and she began to grow quite annoyed at this point, placing the ladle back into the pot of simmering broth and vegetables, she turned around in a huff and began marching out to the foyer of the home.

"Mark-"

Sophie stopped herself in her tracks as she noticed a young man in the doorway, dusting the snow flakes from his blood red suit, he wore a small dark brown top hat, his back was turned from her, he spoke to Markel who seemed to know him along with Hein who was scuttling around frantically, excitedly barking, he too; knew him.

Markel noticed Sophie's presence and smiled widely.

"Sophie! Look who came to visit!"

When Markel addressed the young girl the man turned around, Sophie realized quickly who it was, it was the prince, otherwise known as "turnip head".

She stared blankly at him, he smiled and bowed to her.

"Sophie, it's been so long. I was exploring the shops when I noticed a familiar red headed boy shoveling snow. I haven't realized you moved away."

Sophie silently cursed Markel, they weren't supposed to allow anyone familiar into the new house! She didn't want to be rude, she couldn't be, what's done was done, she had to be kind, this was the king's son after all.

"I'm so glad to see you. You must be freezing. Come, I just made some tea and I'm making vegetable soup, that should be done soon."

She led him to the kitchen, beckoning him to sit at the dining table. She hurriedly tended to the man by pouring him a hot cup of tea, adding a bit of sugar for taste.

"Thank you." He nodded as she handed him a white tea cup, he took a sip of the hot liquid and placed it back down on the tabletop, his gaze following her movements.

"How've you been?"

He questions, gracefully taking another sip of the lemony liquid. Sophie turned from the sink full of dishes, clasping her hands together, she forced a small smile, internally she was exhausted and truly wanted to be in bed right now.

"Great. How about you? Have you found a lovely princess yet? I know the last time I saw you, you mentioned a lovely lady." She recollected coyly, trying her hardest to make small talk, it wasn't her best attribute. Especially in awkward situations.

"I haven't. I had always held out hope it'd be someone…special I once knew."

His voice hushed, his eyes were focused on the texture of the table, though he knew Sophie was married, in love with Howl, he still held some hope for her, he felt a bit odd admitting this, quite frankly it'd slipped out. But he wouldn't deny it. He was in love with her. Everything about her was marvelous, if it weren't for Sophie, he'd be stuck as a scarecrow for the rest of his life. He owed her everything for that.

The silence grew heavy, Sophie had no clue what to say back, she bit her bottom lip, this was incredibly unnerving. She knew he was talking about her.

In the distance the dial of the front door dinged and Sophie knew who had just arrived, her heart was beating so fast she was afraid it may leap out of her chest. She watched the archway of the kitchen closely.

Howl immediately entered the kitchen, he yawned and stretched his arms, unaware of the king's son's presence.

"Sophie how-" as he became aware of the guest his demeanor switched instantly and he hushed, he rose his chest in a defensive manner as he sauntered to Sophie's side.

"Howl, I'm sure you remember-"

"How could I forget the king's son? How are you, your majesty." Howl bowed, his blue eyes sending daggers to the royal being who solemnly stood up straight to greet the wizard as well.

"I am well. I'd like to thank you for your help in my father's kingdom. Your work is divine." The prince smirked at him. "Thank you, I am more than glad to hear that." Howl glanced at Sophie quickly as if asking how he got into the castle.

"I better be on my way. I don't want to keep you- Oh! I have something for you, Sophie."

Howl furrowed his brows as he watched the prince stride to Sophie pulling out a small envelope, he took ahold of her hand, placing the paper in her palm.

"W-what is it?"

"An invitation. I was on my way to the news stand to have an ad published for it."

"An invitation?" Sophie and Howl say in unison. Their eyes meeting each other briefly.

"A ball, I'm hosting. It's the new year ball, I would've had it earlier but with the blizzard I knew it'd be pointless hosting a party."

The new year ball? Sophie had always dreamed of attending one, not that it was the first thing on her list but she had always heard it was magnificent and a once in a lifetime event!

"What do you say Sophie? Of course Howl can come. I wouldn't expect you to arrive without your husband."

Howl held back an annoyed groan, he sized the man up, he'd never in his life been jealous of another person, let alone another man; the way the prince looked at Sophie with longing and genuine love, there was no lust in this man's eye, he was head over heels in love with his wife.

Howl could understand, she was the best thing to ever happen to both of the noble man and Howl himself, but still, the thought of another man being in his position made his blood hot and his heart cold.

"I'll see if I can make it. Thank you so much. I've always wanted to go." She smiled heavily, holding the note to her chest. The prince chuckled as Sophie led him out.

Howl stood his ground, watching as the prince bid his goodbyes, hugging Markel and of course, kissing Sophie's hand, Howl knew it was a sign of gratitude and respect, but he could see full well that he wished he was kissing Sophie somewhere else.

As soon as he was gone, Howl made his apparent anger known to the entire house.

"How did he get in here? I want answers."

Howl had gathered the entire family in the living room, Markel immediately stepped forward, admitting that he was shoveling snow and the prince had been riding by and noticed him. Howl's gaze would meet Sophie's frequently, as if he had expected her to let him in.

"Well, I had rules set. No one who is familiar to us can know we're here. You know that."

"How was I supposed to know he was going to be in town?" Markel pouted, flopping onto the couch next to the witch of the waste who dreamily spoke of the prince.

"He's so handsome. I can't say whose more good looking, Howl or that beautiful prince." She mused, waving herself, Markel's face twisted in disgust as he watched the old woman in heat.

Howl rubbed the bridge of his nose, Insulted completely by the witch's comment.

"Howl, don't be so upset." Sophie interjected, pulling him out of his drowning irritation, he glanced down at his beautiful wife who looked up to him lovingly.

"Thank you… Calicifer-" Howl called out but was cut off by the fire demon.

"Hot water for your bath. I got it."

Sophie stepped back as he moved passed her to the upstairs bathroom. Everyone's gaze trailed to her as she was blown off by her own husband.

"What are you all looking at?" Sophie mumbled, huffing, thinking the same as everyone else. Howl was mad. And it made the entire atmosphere dim. Like a flickering light in a bright room.

Everything was clean, with the help of Markel who finished the dishes, Howl had mopped before he left and 'magically' did the laundry, whatever that meant, so Sophie was left with the night to herself. After enjoying a warm cup of tea by the sweet talking fireplace, of course.

She strolled lazily into the master bedroom, undoing her dress slowly, watching herself in the full length mirror as she did so, it was getting dark early now; causing the light to appear more blue with hints of yellow to pour into the room, washing over her beauty and form; since becoming pregnant she had put on some weight, nothing major or too noticeable, but her breasts had become immensely swollen and had grown twice their size, she needed a new brazier as her old ones were becoming far too small.

She ran her hands over the small mountain that lay underneath a small baby, growing slowly but surely, she wondered what she was having, a boy? Or a girl? She didn't mind, as long as the baby was healthy and happy and not succumbed to Suleman's throne.

Sophie had felt small flutters, no serious kicks since the baby isn't that big yet, maybe it was her imagination, either way. It gave her great relief and joy. Just knowing her baby is with her makes her heart full of love and joy.

"Sophie- Oh, I didn't know you were changing."

Howl stumbled in on his half naked wife who was flushed red as he noticed her bare body, her breasts pressed against the straining of her bra that was attached to the gown flowing from it, the silky fabric stopped just at the top of her lower back, her skin looked marvelous in the moonlight, her silver hair had grown quite a bit, Howl hadn't noticed, it laid just above her breasts, he could have sworn it sparked in the light and her eyes, glowing gold in its glory, her lips were tight with her usual modest demure.

He was taken aback by her beauty once again.

"Howl, what is it?" She mumbled, bending down, pooling the dress around her ankles, her breasts becoming more visible by the second. Howl cleared his throat, his own skin burning.

"I just wanted to apologize, for my childish behavior. I didn't mean to storm off like that." He slowly entered the room closing the door behind him softly, twisting the lock as well. His eyes still taking in the girl's beauty.

"It's okay, Howl. I know you're just trying to protect me." She smiled and that did it for him. Before she knew it she was pinned against the bed, blue eyes staring intently into hers.

"Howl.." she murmured, closing her eyes as he leaned in to kiss her lips softly, he tasted so sweet; it had been so long since they had a moment like this, she moaned softly as he trailed kisses along her neck, his jeweled fingers finding her sore breasts, squeezing them gently; causing her to gasp at the surprising touch.

He wasted no time in getting into business. He wanted her now, he couldn't take it.

Popping the bra off from the front of the contraption, he reveled in how perfect her chest was, he slowly peeled the silky garment from her soft skin, making sure to be gentle when nearing her abdomen.

Sophie allowed him access between her legs, wrapping them around his waist as he quickly undid himself, grabbing onto her hips securely before leaning in for one more passionate kiss.

"Ah!" She gasped as he entered her, his eyes rolling back as he felt himself surrender to the euphoric feeling of having her wrapping around him. He went at a steady pace, making sure to be quite careful with her condition; though he read somewhere sex was healthy for pregnant woman and quite recommended.

"Howl…Oh-" she whined as he lifted her legs up so they were resting on his shoulders, he was so deep, it felt a bit uncomfortable for her, but he soon found the perfect rhythm hitting her sweet spot just right, dissolving the pain entirely.

His dark hair matted to his forehead, his usual crystal blue eyes were dark and full of want, his breathing was unsteady and he couldn't hold the groans back any longer.

"Sophie…" he growled, reaching to cup her left breast, she bit her lip again, teary eyed and red, she arched her hips begging for more of him, she could feel herself nearing a fantastic orgasm. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she let out a loud moan.

Howl knew he was close as well, watching the girl beneath him wither at his touch was enough to drive him mad. He needed a release.

Sophie felt her body spasm underneath him, her toes curling tightly, her eyes slamming shut as she let out one final cry signaling her climax, she quickly felt another nearing as her husband continued his thrusts, which were fast and unsteady, quickly becoming undone by the minute.

Then he allowed himself, one final moment of bliss before exhaustingly falling to his lover's side, his heart beat returning to its natural muse.

"Did you see the king today?"

Sophie intertwined herself in the duvet, smiling at Howl, her gaze was hazy.

"I don't want to talk about that. He's constantly wanting me to create new spells. It's been so hard focusing when we have a baby on the way. And that we have to hide it.." he trailed, his hand finding Sophie's, he gave it a firm squeeze.

"I understand.." she mumbled, resting her head against the pillow. She felt a bit offended by Howl's statement about the baby, it felt as if he was ignoring her side of the spectrum. She had to hideaway like some prisoner in a castle and when she was allowed to go out she had to keep her identity to herself.

"You are not to attend that ball, Madame Suleman almost always makes an appearance."

He sat up, leaning against the headboard.

"I didn't know…"

"It's fine. I know it's hard my love. But focus on getting plenty of rest. I don't want any strain on your body. If you need, you can always visit that special place I showed you once, remember?"

Sophie nodded, thinking back on the beautiful field full of flowers and streams.

"You don't have to wear a decoy to go either."

"Thank you, Howl."

Sophie scooted in to kiss his cheek.

"How are you feeling? You have another appointment coming up rather soon."

"I feel…like my body is changing. It's so exciting yet scary as well." Sophie admitted, watching Howl's stare intensify greatly, his dark brows straining slightly.

"I'm sure you're terrified. But remember, you have me. Us, we all love you. Including our unborn child."

Howl smirked as he watched a smile break onto her face.

"I love you, Howl."

Just then Markel bursted through the door, quickly he realized what he was looking at and his face began burning.

"Markel! You need to knock, you broke the door." Howl groaned, leaning over Sophie who hid herself in embarrassment.

"What is so urgent that you couldn't have knocked?"

"We have another visitor."

"And?"

"It's one of Suleman's henchmen. They're demanding you, Master Howl."

There was a thickening silence, Sophie's heart rate dropped as Howl slowly moved from atop of her.

"Tell them I'll be there in one moment."

Markel nodded, closing the now broken door.

"What do we do? How did they find us so fast!" Sophie hushes, her face twisting into desperation, Howl stood from the bed, dressing himself once more.

"You stay here. If they ask about you, I will say you're visiting your mother. Now, I'll put a spell on this door so momentarily no one can see it. Only I. Do you understand?" Howl lowered his face so it was at level with hers, she swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, hiding the tears billowing at her eyes.

"Good. I'll be back." He kissed her cheek and sighed, before opening the door he lifted his left hand, closing his eyes and mumbling words Sophie couldn't comprehend; a soft blue glow began igniting around the door as Howl left, then and there she began to break down nervously.

"You came to see me." Howl entered the living area, bowing to the henchmen who sat on the couch.

"Howl, we came to see you because Madame Suleman has an invite for you, she's quite ill right now due to the change in weather."

"An invite? How kind. To what? Might I ask."

"The New Year ball. She sent a few of us to your old address and today, the king's son had spread word that you've all moved here and luckily we were in the area, picking up some important documents for her."

Howl held his composure, but he felt so fragile, he'd hope the prince didn't notice Sophie's condition.

"How kind. I always love attending them. This year though, I don't know if I can, my wife is visiting her mother at the moment and I am terribly busy with spells."

"I see. Well, she gave us one invitation." The blonde boy stood and handed Howl the neatly packaged envelope.

"Tha-" Howl was cut off once more.

"Since, the prince claimed to have given your wife an invitation previously in the evening. But that can't be true can it. She's out visiting her mother."

Howl was silent as he spoke, he knew it was better that way. Though the small man had a monotone expression, Howl knew that he was aware of the white lie.

"We should be going. We hope to see you at the ball next weekend. Goodnight." The other man, identical to the one standing, stood from his spot and handed the tea cup to Markel.

"Goodnight." Howl bowed once more and watched the two out, his heart racing the entire time.

"What's up with lying about Sophie?" Calcifer watched Howl flat out ignore him, as he turned around leaving through the archway.

"Hey! I'm apart of this family too!"

/

The next morning was dreadful, Sophie awoke to a welcoming wave of nausea and a throbbing migraine, she was in the bathroom all morning.

"Howl, how are you going to hide the baby if you two have to go to the ball?" Markel asks, shoveling a fried egg into his mouth.

"Not sure, but I know I'll think of something." Howl murmured as he pours hot tea into his cup, twisting his face in disgust as he could hear Sophie hacking into the toilet. He wished he could be up there with her, but she insisted he cook breakfast and clean the foyer, which he did, using his magic; but she didn't need to know that.

Finally, she arrived after a long bath with numerous bath soaps and oils, she felt much better now; though she was still worrying over the surprising visit last night.

"Good morning." Sophie chirped as she walked into the kitchen, meeting Howl and Markel.

"Morning my love. How are you?" Howl circled the counter to greet his wife, placing a soft kiss on her temple.

"Mm…I could be better. I really wish we had chocolate. Do you think you could go out and get some?"

Sophie looked up at him, her brown eyes begging him for the sweet treat that was actually a bit hard to find in this town, but that was not going to stop him from pleasing his pregnant wife.

"I will go right away. What kind?"

"Dark please. Milk chocolate upsets my stomach."

"Ah, well I'll be sure to bring back all of the dark chocolate." Howl nodded as he turned to leave, grabbing his coat on the way out.

"Be safe. Please. Thank you so much."

"Yes, of course." Howl called before leaving.

Sophie decided to rest in the living room with Calcifer and Markel, Hein laid on her lap, resting his head against the small bump of her abdomen.

"Sophie, have you felt the baby move?"

Markel asks, looking up from his study.

"Well, not really, the baby isn't big enough…but I do feel flutters. Especially, when Howl is around…I can already tell that this baby is going to be all over him."

Markel chuckled before returning to his studying.

"I hope it's a girl, I don't think I can take another Howl running around. I've known him since he was a kid ya know…he was always going against rules.."

Calcifer barked, remembering the young wizard, it brought the fire demon joy seeing how far he's come.

"I don't care what the baby is. All I want is for him or her to be happy and healthy." Sophie says as she pats Hein on the head.

Meanwhile, Howl was on the town, ignoring the persistent stares from the people on the street, due to his strange clothing after what seemed to be forever of walking and the annoying sound of snow crunching under his feet, he found a street vendor selling an assortment of chocolates. A young man and woman who he presumed to be related in some way.

"Hello sir, it's pretty cold out. Aren't you freezing?"

The woman asks, as Howl searches their selection.

"Not in the slightest, Thank you for asking..Do you have dark chocolate by any chance?" Howl drags his attention to her, she smiles sweetly and points to a small black box wrapped in purple ribbon sitting in front of her.

"Perfect! How much?"

"$100 please!"

Howl gasped in shock, he knew since the war chocolate has become more of a luxury but $100? For a small box?

"Eh..do you have a cheaper priced box?"

"Sadly, no. This is imported from a faraway town, it's said a great wizard helped with this recipe."

Howl raised a brow, he was a wizard, a great one and his own spells aren't even $100 most of the time, unless they were the more complex ones.

"Alright." Howl nodded, he didn't want to arrive home without the sweets, it'd hurt his heart seeing Sophie upset.

"How much is in this box?" Howl picks it up delicately, examining it for any sort of foul play.

"Four small pieces, sir."

Howl sighed and painfully pulled the money from his pocket, exchanging small talk with the man who took the money. He hoped the chocolate was worth that staggering price, he knew the smile on Sophie's face would be.

On his way back, he decided he was going to put his magic in good use, by merely giving himself ten minutes of invisibility and walking on air. Literally.

This gave him the perfect view of the town, he enjoyed the sight, seeing the many townspeople go about their day. It was peaceful really, especially since no one could see him.

As he hopped from roof top to roof top he noticed a familiar carriage trotting by a row of shops as herds of people parted to allow the horses to go through. It was Madame Suleman's. Howl could tell by the flags on the back of carriage. There wasn't a doubt in his mind.

He wasted no time in getting home and fast.

"Howl! You're back. Sophie and I baked a cherry pie-"

Markel jumped up in down, chanting as Howl entered with a worrisome stare.

"Where is Sophie?"

"Huh? She's in the bedroom taking a nap-"

"Thank you." Howl nodded and rushed to the room, his heart slowly returning to it's normal speed as he walked in on a slumbering Sophie.

He knew what he had to do, he moved rooms quickly, practically running to his study, tearing an old spell book from the large bookcase, he threw the book onto the rickety tabletop and began reading the 48 hour invisibility spell, which would mean everyone in the castle excluding him would be forced to stay in doors, in fact; they'd have no choice; this spell was strong and was usually used to hideaway wizards and witches during hunts back in the day, but he had no choice but to use this, at least until Madame Suleman was out of sight, Howl would have to go out and spy on her, praying she wouldn't notice.

"Howl? What's going on…I heard thumping.."

Sophie yawned, rubbing her eyes, her silver locks were unraveled from its usual braid and now fell over her shoulders messily.

"Sophie…"

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Howl inched toward her quickly, grabbing her shoulders gently.

"I saw Madame Suleman as I was out, she didn't see me, nor did I see her…rather I saw her carriage. I knew it was her. I'm placing a strong forty-eight hour invisibility spell on the castle. That means you and the others in the castle will be stuck here until the spell is lifted…aside from I, I will have no choice but stay on watch time to time, as I'm almost sure she'd try to visit us."

Sophie was silent as he spoke quietly and quickly, trying to understand each word without panicking.

"Sophie, do you understand?"

"I do…"

And with that Howl graced the family with the not so good news, making an excuse of course so no one truly knew the reasoning behind the quarantine.

"How will I get my cigars!" The old witch grunted, turning from Howl as if he will an insect.

"Well, to be fair, they aren't very healthy for you anyhow. Nor is it for my wife who is expecting."

Howl sternly spoke, circling the living area slowly.

"So, we'll be stuck in here for two days? That's going to be awful! What about Hein?"

"We'll have to work something out." Howl sighed.

"I think it'll do us some good, we can have a great two days together full of lots of fun!" Sophie chimed in, forcing a smile as a unison of groans emitted from the members of the house.

"Trust me, It'll go by fast. I promise."

Howl rested his hands on his hips.

"It'll do us all some good spending quality time together."


End file.
